Get Out Of This Town
by TStabler
Summary: Olivia Benson's sick of her life, and her mother, now she's leaving her small California town. Someone unexpected catches her running, and decides to leave with her. A cross-country adventure to save their lives ends up changing everything! AU/ E/O
1. Get Out Of This Town

**A/N: Requested originally as a SongFic, but I've done something else. =) AU, sort of time-lapsed for a few chaps. If this lasts that long...you have to want it to ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters are owned by Dick Wolf. This story, all of it, is owned by TStabler©**

Olivia Benson walked into the convenience store, with a chip on her shoulder and a scowl on her face. She walked up and down the aisles, grabbing paper towels, five bags of Corn Nuts, a tube of toothpaste, a box of Band-Aids, burn cream, an ace bandage, and several of the "pop and cool" ice-packs that didn't require refrigeration to work. She walked up to the register and groaned. He was the last person she wanted to see. Especially now, at three in the morning, when she thought no one would see her doing this.

"Benson?" the guy at the counter asked. "What the hell happened to you?"

Olivia shook her head. "Just ring the shit up, Stabler. I have to go. I don't have time to..."

"Get into a fight with a sumo wrestler?" the kid asked, cutting her off.

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Olivia cracked. "How much do I owe you, jackass?"

He looked at her, cringing at the sight, and said, "Twenty-eight fifty. Seriously, Benson. What happened?"

Olivia handed him thirty bucks and said, "Keep the change. Consider it a tip." She walked out of the store, but heard him following her. She rolled her eyes and sped up.

"Olivia," he called to her, catching up to her, grabbing her arm.

"Ow!" Olivia yelled, pulling her arm away from him. "God damn it, Elliot!"

Elliot Stabler, that was his name, looked at her, wide eyed. "I'm sorry, Benson! I didn't think..."

"No, you fucking didn't!" Olivia yelled. Tears had sprung to her eyes. She wasn't gonna let him see her cry, no way.

"Olivia," Elliot said to her, softly, pulling her toward him gently, "I think it's broken."

Olivia just nodded. "Smart one," she quipped. "They teach you how to tell if someone's arm is broken in the Marines?"

"You need a doctor," Elliot said, his eyes gazing at her, serious. Pleading.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Olivia bit. "Can you let me go? Please? I wanna leave before she wakes...shit," she hissed, cursing herself.

Elliot looked from her to her car and saw the bags in the back of the old 1963 Ford Falcon convertible she'd bought herself last year, when she got her license. "You're leaving? Why?" he asked, concerned. "Before who wakes up? Talk to me, Benson," he commanded.

"My mother," she whispered, pulling away from him and dropping the bags into the open-roofed car. "I have had it all figured out, for years, ya know?" she babbled, hopping over the side, into her driver's seat. "I had a bag packed, under my bed, ready to go, since I was fifteen. I just needed her to go too far. Push me too far. One last time."

"What?" Elliot gasped. "You can't just...where are you gonna go, huh?"

"Dunno," Olivia said, smirking. "Hadn't thought of that. No directions, no map, if I get lost, fuck it, Stabler. No one will give a shit. I don't give a shit either. As long as I'm away from her."

Elliot shook his head. "That's not...I mean, someone would give a shit, Benson," he stammered.

"Yeah? You think my mother cares?" Olivia asked, harshly, digging through the bag to find the burn cream and bandages. "Okay. This," she said, lifting up her shirt a bit, "Is from when she threw her coffee at me this morning." She dabbed the burn cream on the angry red blisters. "This," she said, rolling up her sleeve to show a deep, inch wide gash, "Is from when she jabbed her fork in my wrist." She placed a Band-Aid over it. Then she took off her jacket, finally showing Elliot her purple arm, as she rolled it up in the ace bandage. "And this arm? This is the third time she's broken it, Stabler. She threw me into the elevator and held my hand out as the doors closed on my arm She thought it was funny." Olivia laughed, vilely. "She's not gonna give a rat's ass that I'm gone, and no one else in this godforsaken town even knows or cares that I exist, so they won't fucking notice."

Elliot had moved closer, tears in his eyes, with every injury she showed him. "I know you exist. I'd give a rat's ass if I woke up to find you gone, Olivia."

"Bullshit," Olivia spat.

"No, it's not," Elliot said, reaching out to brush her hair back. "We've known each other since we were kids, Olivia. You were the only girl on my baseball team. You are the only person who's ever seen my really bad karaoke-version of 'Pretty Woman', and you know I only sing it to you, right?"

Olivia chuckled, nodding.

Elliot smirked. "Even after we...well, you were the only one who was there for me when Kathy got pregnant," he said. "The only one who didn't look at me like I was nuts when I asked her to marry me, thinking I was doing the right thing. You're the only one who didn't call me a fool when she laughed in my face and told me the kid wasn't mine. You're the only person, besides my mother, that I wrote to when I was in the corps. To be perfectly honest, Benson, you're the only real friend I've ever had. It would kill me if you left." He looked into her eyes, seeing the pain and the hurt in them. "I thought you trusted me, Benson. Why didn't you tell me about any of this? You should have told me. I could have done something..."

Olivia blinked and interrupted him. "You wouldn't have understood, Elliot. You're the only real friend I've ever had, too, okay? Happy? I fucking admit it. You already know one horrible secret about me, if you knew this, you would have thought..." she broke off, choking on her words. She still refused to cry. "I couldn't..."

Elliot, saying nothing, hopped over the side of her car. "If we leave tonight, and drive fast enough, we'll be halfway across the country before they even sober up," he said.

"Woah, what is this 'we' shit?" Olivia scoffed. "They?"

Elliot turned his arm over to her. "Cigarette burns, every time I talked back or said 'no' to him." He pulled up his own shirt, revealing a long, thin scar. "First time I got a 'C' on my report card, he came at me with a razor blade. I was in third grade." He pulled his shirt back down and reached over, cupping her face. "My father is just like your mother. I would have understood perfectly."

"Elliot," Olivia whispered, her unshed tears finally falling.

Elliot rested his forehead against hers, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. "Let's go, Benson. You and me. Somewhere we won't ever be found. Not by anyone." He brushed his hand over her head, smoothing back her hair. "If we leave now, all our troubles and problems will be just like us. Long gone, baby."

Olivia smiled, only slightly. "You haven't called me 'baby' since..."

"I know," Elliot said, silencing her. "You stopped talking to me for a month, Olivia. You got so mad at me and you never told me what I did. I tried to apologize for it, and you just had this attitude toward me. I loved..."

Olivia shook her head. "It wasn't you, Stabler," she said. "It was me. You were getting too close. Way too close. I didn't want you to..."

"Hurt you?" Elliot asked. "Olivia, I would never, ever, hurt you. That's the last thing you ever have to worry about." He smiled at her, took her hand, and rested both of their open palms over the gear shift. "Drive, Benson."

"Where?" Olivia asked, turning the key.

"My place, I need clothes. I'll be fast," Elliot said. "Then the bank. I'll get everything I've got out of the ATM, and then we will follow the stars, Benson. Just you, holding my hand as the miles roll by, until we get to wherever it is we think we're going."

They drove to his house, and he was quiet as a mouse as he went inside, grabbed the few things he couldn't live without, and kissed his mother on the cheek. Then, they drove to his bank, where he emptied his account. It took a while. He had to do it in sixty dollar increments. When he was finished, he got back into the car and took her hand again. He looked at her and smirked. "You really did plan this perfectly, didn't you?" he asked her.

Olivia smirked back at him as she pulled out of the parking space. "What makes you say that?"

"It's just a coincidence that you're getting out of this town a month before your eighteenth birthday?" Elliot asked, his thumb absently stroking the side of her hand. "If she ever does find you, she can't do shit about it."

"Well, I had to figure something out," Olivia said. "She wouldn't sign military consent forms like _someone's_ father. Who the hell sends their fucking seventeen year old son to the Marines?"

"My father, I guess," Elliot laughed. "Didn't change a damn thing. If anything, he thought it made me able to take more of his shit when I got home."

Olivia glanced at him. "We're really leaving. You're really coming with me?"

"Olivia Benson," Elliot said, giving her hand a squeeze over the gear shift, "You and I are nothing but dust in the shadows of Avery, California. I'm with you, baby."

Olivia chuckled again at the fact he'd called her baby. "Gimme some idea, here, Stabler. Where are we going. I need to get on a highway."

"Go east," Elliot told her with a shrug.

"No shit! If I go west we'll end up in the fucking Pacific Ocean!" Olivia laughed.

Elliot looked at her, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight. "No, Benson. East. New York. We'll do what you told me you wanted to do when were kids."

"We were just kids, Elliot!" Olivia said, stunned. "You can't really think I was..."

"I applied, ya know. We both got in," Elliot interrupted. "We _both_ got in, and I got a military scholarship, you got a full-ride because you're a fucking genius."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"It's a plan," Elliot said with a smirk and a nod. "We needed one and now we have one. Let's get out of this town, baby, and on with our lives." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her bruised, broken knuckles, one by one. "Together."

**A/N: And then....? How do they survive? Are they going to be looking over their shoulders for Joe and Serena? Will Serena even notice Olivia's gone? Wanna know?**


	2. Las Vegas, Nevada

**A/N: Where are they heading? What will this do to their strained relationship? Make it better? Or worse?**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters, but he certainly didn't create 'em like this. TStabler© did. Story and contents belong to her. Thanks.**

"Favorite color still black?" Elliot asked, yawning as the wind and the sunlight hit him in the face. Driving East at seven in the morning was a bad idea if you were in a convertible.

Olivia smirked. "Black's not a color," she said.

"I know, I know," Elliot said, rolling his eyes. "It's a shade. The absence of light. Whatever," he cracked, reaching to change the radio station.

"Yes, it is," Olivia said, finally answering his question. "You still sleep naked?"

Elliot cleared his throat. "I'm still, uh, sorry you had to…I mean I know we…yeah, I do," he finally answered, looking out the window.

Olivia chuckled. It was cute how he was reacting. How she was making him nervous. "Not in my car, you don't," she said, raising her eyebrow at him. "I had to work my ass off to pay for this classic hunk of blue metal, and you're not ruining the leather with your bare ass sweating all over it."

Elliot laughed and shook his head. "Damn," he said, "Cause, ya know, I really wanted to get naked and hop in the backseat with you tonight."

Silence.

"I didn't mean that the way it came out," Elliot said, realizing what it sounded like he suggested.

Olivia chuckled. "I know you didn't, Elliot," she said, a sad sigh behind her words. Once upon a time, if she'd been less afraid, more willing to trust him, he would have meant it exactly how it sounded.

"We've gotta be outta California by now," Elliot said, rubbing his eyes. "We've been driving for a while."

"How long?" Olivia asked.

Elliot glanced at the clock. "Four hours," he said. "That sunrise was beautiful wasn't it? Almost romantic."

"Hmm," Olivia hummed, noncommittally. "We've been out of California for a while. We're in Nevada."

"Really? Can we go to Vegas?" Elliot asked with a gasp, sounding excited.

"I'm not marrying you," Olivia cracked with a chuckle and a smirk.

Elliot laughed. "I know, I didn't ask you to. I just…I've always wanted to see it. I never thought I'd get out of Avery. We should, uh, make the most of this little trip and stop and do some sight seeing."

Sighing, Olivia moved into the right lane, and put her turn signal on. "You're lucky I like you."

"You just like me?" Elliot asked, his eyes narrow.

Olivia bit her lip. Why was he doing this to her now? Avoidance. Her only option. "I still need to see a doctor. You live it up in Sin City while I try to find…"

"No," Elliot said, a bit hurt that she ignored his question, but knowing why she did it. "I'm going with you, Benson. You've been going by yourself for years. I'm gonna be there for you this time. Like I should have been since we were kids, if you would have fucking told me about this shit. God, I look back now, and...you're not that clumsy and you hate skiing. I should have know." He sighed and ran his hand through her wind-blown hair. "I'm here for you now. Always."

Olivia's eyes closed as the light turned green and she steered the convertible onto the dusty Nevada road that would take them into the city. "Thanks," she whispered.

Elliot sighed, then turned away from her, looking back out the window. Why wouldn't she let him love her? He'd prove to her, somehow, that he was worth taking a chance on. That he was worth taking the chance that she ran from a year ago. He'd make her see. He had to make her see.

* * *

"This city smells like feet," Olivia grumbled, parking in a dirt-filled lot. "And it's eight o'clock in the morning! Do they really need all the fucking lights on?"

"Are you always this happy?" Elliot asked, sarcastically.

Olivia shook her head. "No, sometimes I'm in a bad mood."

Elliot opened his door, hitting the button to raise the top, and walked around to Olivia. "You, uh, you wanna let me drive for a while when we leave here?"

"Not really," Olivia said. "No. No one drives that car but me."

Elliot rolled his eyes. "I get that, but we're gonna be driving for a fucking week, Benson. I can drive if you…"

"No," Olivia said, firmly, walking toward the Immedicare Center across the street. "I don't think when I'm driving, Elliot. If I'm in the passenger seat, if I let you drive, then I'm gonna think, then I'm gonna freak, then I'm gonna…"

"Think about what?" Elliot broke in, pulling the office doors open for her.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Everything," she grumbled.

Elliot signed her in and sat with her in the waiting room, he took her hand, the way he had done in the car for the first two hours of their trip. "What exactly would you think about?" he asked her, his voice soft, hesitant.

"Elliot, I…" Olivia began, pausing to remind herself to breathe. "I'd think about what I just did. What we just did! Where we're going, what we're about to do. I'd think about why the hell you jumped into my car with me, and I'd think about why I didn't stop you."

Elliot sighed, too, and pulled her hand closer, resting it on his lap as he caressed it with his thumb. "All of that worries you? Every bit of it scares you?" he asked.

"It doesn't scare you?" Olivia asked in response.

"What we just did, yes. What we're gonna do, hell yes. But the reason I jumped in your car and ran with you, the reason you didn't stop me, Olivia, that's the only thing…the only thing I'm not afraid of. The only thing that's actually making me less afraid."

Olivia pulled her hand out of his and blinked her eyes. "Well, that just makes you more stable than me, doesn't it?"

Before Elliot could say anything, the nurse came out of the door and called Olivia into the office. Elliot rose with her, determined to hold her hand throughout the entire ordeal, whether she wanted him to or not.

An hour later, they left the clinic with Olivia's arm in a cast up to her elbow and once they hit the desert air again, she turned to him. "So, we're in Vegas, we're not old enough to drink or gamble, and we've already decided that I'm not fucking marrying you. What do you want to…"

"The Bellagio, Olivia," Elliot said with a smile. "I wanna see the fountains at the Bellagio. And I want to see the pirate show at Treasure Island. I wanna ride the roller coaster at the top of the New York, New York Hotel. I want to…"

"Wow," Olivia interrupted with a laugh. "You have put a lot of thought into this."

"I told you," Elliot said to her as they walked toward the strip, "I thought I would never get out of Avery, so I used to just daydream about it. I have a list of things I wanna do in every major city from her to New York. Ever since you told me that's where you wanted to go, ever since we were kids when you made me promise to go with you when you left, because you were gonna be the baddest girl-cop the city'd ever seen. You wanted to be a superhero and you needed me to be your sidekick. I planned the whole fucking thing after you said that, Olivia."

Olivia stared at him, her eyes unfocused and unsure, as she walked with no real direction, just following him. "You…remember what I said, word for word? You remember that promise? Is that why you…"

"No," Elliot said quickly. "Well, partly, Benson. I wanted to get out, in the worst way, and you were giving me the chance. It wasn't until we were in the car, actually going, that I remembered promising to go with you."

Olivia looked away from him, finally realizing he was leading her right for the Bellagio. "Elliot, why me?"

"Why you what?" Elliot asked, confused, as he took both of her hands.

"Why me?" Olivia repeated,leaning up against the bars in front of the fountains at the hotel. "Why did that son of a bitch have to pick Serena Benson? Why did she have to get knocked up, and why did she keep me? Why does she hate me and why, for the love of God, don't you?"

"I can only answer one of those questions," Elliot said, taking a chance and wrapping an arm around her as they watched the colorful water-ballet in front of them. "I don't hate you, Olivia, because you are impossible to hate."

Olivia scoffed. "I'm damaged, Elliot. How can you not hate someone who doesn't know how to love?"

"You know how," Elliot said. "You loved me, once, and it scared the shit out of you, so you ran from it." He sighed and looked from her to the fountains. "You know what you did to me? You broke my heart into a million little pieces. You made me hop into bed with the first thing I saw that didn't remind me of you, and I got so fucking scared when I thought she was having my kid, Benson. Because I thought I was gonna have to marry her, and that would mean losing the chance of ever being with you again."

Olivia was silent for a moment, then gave his hand a light squeeze. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Elliot. I honestly thought you wouldn't care. I just…I had to…"

"Hurt me before I could hurt you," Elliot said. "Because you never got it through that beautiful head of yours that I was never gonna do that."

"You did, though," Olivia said. "When you left for the Marines. Elliot, I couldn't breathe until I got the first letter, and then I stopped breathing until the next one came."

"I didn't leave by choice," Elliot said, shrugging. "My father thought it was time for his boy to become a man. As if that didn't happen when he was seven years old." He gritted his teeth, clenching his jaw, but then he relaxed. "Look, none of that matters now. We're together now, and we're doing what's right for us."

Olivia nodded. "We are," she said.

"And, Olivia," Elliot said, tugging her off the gate gently, "I don't hate you because you're warm, and kind, and you have this incredible spirit that's been broken, and I wanna fix it. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Actually, I've thought that since we met."

"We were four!" Olivia said, shocked.

"I know, imagine what went through my head when at four, I thought you were beautiful," Elliot laughed. "I thought there was something wrong with me because I was supposed to think girls were icky and I thought you were a fucking angel."

Olivia looked into his eyes, then. "An angel?"

"My angel," Elliot clarified. "I ran to you with my problems and you never turned away. I wanted to climb trees, you climbed them with me. I wanted to be a fireman in the second grade, you set that old barn on Grove Street on fire and told me to put it out." He laughed and shook his head. "Everything we've been through, everything I've seen you do, and accomplish, in spite of the shit you have had to live with, Olivia, it's made me fall in…" he paused, praying she wouldn't run. "I'm proud of you, and I'm blessed to have you in my life." He brushed the tear that had fallen out of her right eye away and said, "I don't hate you, because how can you hate someone that it's impossible not to fall in love with?"

Olivia sniffled, and tried to smile at him. "Uh, you wanted to, um, the pirate thing."

"Liv," Elliot said, not letting go of her hand.

Olivia gasped, shooting her eyes up to his. It had been so long since he called her that. So long since she heard him call her that, and she missed it so much. "El?" she said, a question, wary and shaky, as her vision blurred behind the tears.

Elliot nodded. "Yeah, baby," he said. "It's me," he whispered as she fell into his arms. "Let's skip the pirate thing, Liv. I think we both need a good thrill."

They headed to New York, New York, and anticipated getting on the humungous rollercoaster that would give them a bit of excitement amidst the emotional rollercoaster they'd just gotten off. The irony, however, was lost on them. They didn't get it right away, but they would soon, that arriving in New York, New York would give them the biggest thrills of their lives. Just as long as no one followed them, or got in their way.

**A/N: Next Chapter: Stop number two on their journey. Waking up in Salt Lake City, Utah. Another memory form their past that might bring them closer to their future, and does Olivia show the first sign of letting herself fall in love? Maybe? Maybe not. Reviews are my favorite color!**


	3. Salt Lake City, Utah

**A/N: Stop number two on their journey. Waking up in Salt Lake City, Utah, in an interesting position. Another memory from their past that might bring them closer to their future, and does Olivia show the first sign of letting herself fall in love? **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters, but he certainly didn't create 'em like this. TStabler© did. Story and contents belong to her. Thanks.**

Olivia was the first to struggle with blinking her eyes open, shifting uncomfortably in the backseat of her classic convertible. She rolled over to her left and that's when she both felt and smelled her pillow.

His name was Elliot.

He had his arms wrapped around her and, though it felt amazing, it scared the pants off of her. She could have sworn she'd fallen asleep on the other side of the car, and Olivia Benson was not the type to toss, turn, and randomly cuddle in her sleep. She shifted her weight, hoping to pull out of his vice-like grip and get back into the front seat, but as soon as she got to her elbows, his eyes were open, staring up into hers, the smile still on his face.

"Good morning," Elliot said groggily.

Olivia nodded. "Uh, how did we end up…like this?"

Elliot shrugged and yawned. "No idea, but it was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. About a year, I think," he said, pointedly, still looking her in the eyes.

Since the last time he'd fallen asleep with Olivia in his arms, he meant.

Elliot took a chance and leaned forward, hoping that her reflexes were slow since she'd just woken up. He wanted to kiss her, badly.

Olivia backed up, though, giving him a questioning look. Elliot knew to let go, and they both rubbed the last remnants of sleep from their eyes. "We should get moving," Olivia said blearily as she began to climb over into the front.

"Olivia," Elliot said, shocked, sitting up, "Come on! I thought we agreed not to take this trip for granted!"

"I'm not taking it for granted, Elliot," Olivia said, sounding mildly offended. "I'm just…I wanna get as far away as possible, as fast as possible. She's probably not sober enough to realize I've been gone for a whole fucking day yet, but when she realizes I'm…"

"What's she gonna do, huh?" Elliot interrupted. "Drive, drunk no less, all the way out to wherever you are? She's got no clue where to look…in what direction to even start looking, and she doesn't know you're with someone who's ready and willing to kick her ass."

Olivia looked at him, shocked at the firmness in his voice. She blinked, then rolled her eyes. "Fine, Captain Cross-Country, what brilliant adventure do you have planned for us here in…" she looked up to the sign they'd parked in front of and continued… "Salt Lake City."

"Easy," Elliot said, hopping out of the car and pulling fresh clothes from his bag. "Lagoon Amusement Park," he said as he peeled off his shirt. "It's just north of here."

Olivia let her eyes land on his ripped, muscular chest, and she noticed his tattoo, smiling at the memory of being with him when he got it, and why he'd chosen that particular design. She didn't realize she was staring at him until Elliot leaned over the side of the car, grinning smugly, and said, "Now, to be fair, I have to watch you change. I get to stare at your half-naked body for ten minutes."

Clearing her throat, she said, "It wasn't ten minutes." Olivia unzipped her bag, found a clean shirt, and, with great skill and speed, pulled it over her head, slipped her arms inside of it, wiggled around a bit, stuck her arms back out, and pulled her old shirt out from the neck, tugging it off her head. "There," she said. "You watched me change. Commence staring, but, sadly for you, I'm not half naked."

"That was…where did you learn how to do that?" Elliot asked, dumbfounded.

Olivia chuckled and said, "Every girl in the universe learns how to do that in the locker room, El. Changing for gym in front of other girls, that's, uh, kind of embarrassing." She paused, looked down, and said, "Especially when you're covered in bruises and scars you don't want anyone to see."

"Oh, Liv," Elliot said, feeling horrible, "I'm sorry I brought it up…"

"No, it's okay," she said, finally climbing into the driver's seat. "Where's this amusement park of yours?"

Elliot climbed into the passenger seat, watching her finger-comb her hair and pull it back into a ponytail. "Uh, follow the signs, I guess."

"Great," Olivia scoffed, starting the car.

"Hey, you're the one who said if we get lost, you'd be fine with it," Elliot teased.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean I wanted to get lost in Utah."

Elliot laughed and took her hand, on it's usual perch over the gear shift. He squinted in the sunlight, turning to her, and said, "I think, tonight, we should find a place to shower. I need to shave, and I probably smell like…"

"You smell really good, actually," Olivia interrupted. She eyed him carefully for his reaction, and saw the smug smirk creep across his face. She smiled to herself, as she realized that for the first time, she wasn't afraid to fall in love with him.

* * *

"I can't believe you made me do that," Olivia panted, trying to catch her breath after coming off of a particularly thrilling roller coaster.

"I didn't make you do anything," Elliot laughed. He stopped, got serious, and said, "I'd never make you do anything you didn't wanna do."

Looking at him with a new emotion her eyes, she said, "I know that."

Elliot turned away quickly. Looking into her eyes for too long made his heart ache. "Ferris wheel?" he asked, pointing to the round, slow-moving ride a few yards ahead of them.

Olivia shrugged and followed him, holding the giant panda bear he'd won for her by throwing a particularly speedy fastball. "I've never been on one," she admitted.

"You're kidding," Elliot said, furrowing his brow. "Never?"

Olivia shook her head. "This is actually only my second time at an amusement park. The first was a school trip to Disneyland, and I had the flu. I got sick on Cinderella. My mother wasn't one for family fun, El. We never did anything, never went anywhere."

"Well, I'm glad I got to be your first," Elliot said, smirking. Then he cleared his throat as he saw Olivia smirk. "I meant, uh, I get to be with you, on your first, uh, ferris wheel."

Olivia pressed her lips together and nodded. "You don't have to keep doing that, El."

"Doing what?" Elliot asked, climbing into the seat next to her.

She handed the ride-operator her bear and looked at Elliot. "You don't have to cover up your suggestive comments, or get nervous and try to hide the fact that you're flirting with me."

"Caught that, huh?" Elliot said with a chuckle. "I guess, I just don't know how you're gonna react anymore. You and I...We're different, Liv. I don't know what, about us, you wanna forget, or what we are, what this all means."

"I don't wanna forget anything about us," Olivia said, her voice taking on an almost pleading quality. "I'm gonna react the same way I always did, we are…us, what we've always been, we're just a little broken at the moment. And this," gestured around her head to indicate their situation, "means that we're on our way to being fixed."

Elliot sighed, leaned back and pulled Olivia back as the ride started. "Yeah," he said softly.

"And you were, by the way," Olivia muttered, not looking at him anymore, but staring straight out, watching the sky get closer as the ground got father away.

"I was what?" Elliot asked, his eyes, unknowingly, focused on the same patch of land as Olivia's.

Olivia broke her gaze from the spot of sand and brought her eyes up to his, though they weren't looking back at her. "My first," she said. "And only."

That did it. Elliot's eyes snapped toward hers. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked a silent question.

"Yeah," Olivia said with a scoffing chuckle. "Kinda pathetic, right? Just the one time, with you."

Elliot, taking a chance, reached across the bar and took her hand. "That's not pathetic," he told her. "Liv, there's only been Kathy since you. Once. She didn't even mean any…I mean, she was just a distraction. I was with her because she was nothing like you, and I wanted to forget you and…" he stopped, realizing that no matter how he said it, he'd sound like an asshole.

"I know," Olivia said, surprising him by caressing the side of his hand with her thumb. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, looking back down at the ground as it came closer, then drifted away.

"Liv," Elliot said, using his free hand to cup her chin, pulling her toward him, forcing her to look at him, "You don't have to be sorry, okay? I know why you ran, and I know…I know it wasn't all you."

Olivia's eyes flashed with fear and panic. "What?" she asked.

"I know your mother found out about us," Elliot said. "She wrote me a letter when I was in the corps, telling me to stop writing to you, and she told me that she forced you to break up with me because I was robbing you of your innocence. She told me to stop trying to get you back, because she had plans for you and they didn't include me." He shook his head and gave a sad laugh. "If I had known that she beat the shit out of you for it, Liv…"

"Don't," Olivia said, shaking her head. "You didn't know, and you know me better than anyone, so that means I did a damn good job of hiding it. That was kind of the point."

Elliot nodded at her, then scooted closer to her as they watched the world around them move in slow circles. "Your mother can't stop you now, Liv," he whispered to her as he slowly, gently, put his arm around her shoulder.

"No," Olivia said, smiling slightly. "She can't." She looked up into his eyes, and it was as if nothing had changed between them. He was giving her the soft, love-filled look he'd always reserved just for her, and his cocky grin was plastered on his face where it belonged. "That doesn't mean I'm gonna hop right into bed with you, Stabler," she joked, nudging him with her elbow, unconsciously leaning into his embrace.

Elliot laughed. "I never even thought that's what you meant," he said. "Besides, we don't have a bed. We have a car. With a really big, comfortable backseat." He waggled his eyebrows and Olivia laughed at him.

Olivia's head lolled, dropping to his shoulder, as the afternoon sun beat down on them, spinning in their wheel. "This is really nice," she said.

"Yeah, it is," Elliot agreed. Then, because he'd wanted to since he saw her, beaten and broken at the convenience store, he kissed the crown of her head. He let his eyes slide closed as he did it, cherishing the moment, as if he'd never kiss her anywhere again.

Olivia felt him kiss the top of her head, and she, too, let her eyes drop closed. She'd never imagined he still loved her, she doubted that he ever did, and she felt it, running through her body, with that small, delicate kiss. "El," she whispered.

"Yeah, Liv?" Elliot responded.

"I'm not running from you this time," Olivia said, her eyes still closed, afraid that if she opened them she'd realize the words were really coming out of her mouth. "I'm running with you, right? So, we're running together," she said, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to build the strength to say what she wanted to say.

Elliot's heart raced, too. He hoped he knew what she was getting at. "We are, yeah," he said, peering down at her, as if willing her to look at him.

Olivia, feeling him looking at her, tilted her head and looked into his crystal-blue eyes. "El, I never stopped…" she never got the words out.

Elliot, relieved and overcome with emotion at the very beginning of her statement, pressed his lips to hers, softly but with great demand for her to kiss him back. He smiled against her lips when he felt her hand creep up the back of his neck and come to rest on the back of his head. He cupped the side of her face with the hand that wasn't around her waist, and slowly licked the bottom of her top lip.

Olivia gave the back of his head a light scratch, opening her mouth to him, despite the hammering in her chest. They were so lost in the most perfect kiss of their lives, or at least the most perfect kiss in a long while, they didn't realize the wheel had stopped. They pulled apart, slowly, and their foreheads touched as they calmed their breathing and heavily beating hearts.

Elliot was the first to look out and he chuckled. "Look, baby," he said, staring over the water and sand as they swayed at the top of the wheel. "We're on top of the world."

Olivia, still looking at him, not the view, said, with a new confidence in her voice, "We certainly are."

Elliot looked at her and smiled his Stabler smile, and said, "I never stopped loving you, either." He kissed her again, knowing she would let him, and the wheel jerked forward, bringing them both back down to Earth.

**A/N: NEXT: They stop to shower and change, they drive through Wyoming, and more memories from their past as they spend a night under the stars. And then, Serena realizes she's gone. What does she do? Want it?**


	4. Cheyenne, Wyoming

**A/N: NEXT: They stop to shower and change, they drive through Wyoming, and more memories from their past as they spend a night under the stars. And then, Serena realizes she's gone. What does she do? **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters, but he certainly didn't create 'em like this. TStabler© did. Story and contents belong to her. Thanks.**

Olivia yawned as she switched gears, moved into the left lane, and tried to roll the kink out of her neck. Sitting, hands on the wheel, concentrating on the road, for as many hours as she had been, was making her cramp up and she desperately needed a break.

"We should stop," Elliot said, sensing her discomfort.

"We're in the middle of nowhere on Route Eighty, El," Olivia protested. "Where would you like to stop?"

Elliot chuckled and held up his cell phone. "There's a truck stop in Cheyenne with private showers and a diner. We can eat, shower, maybe, uh, talk for a little while?"

Olivia bit her lip, as if thinking about it, then nodded. "Yeah, okay," she said. "And put that away. No directions, no maps, remember? You promised," she said with a smile. "Part of the adventure."

"It's not directions, or a map, I just Googled truck stops on Route Eighty. I told you I needed a shower," Elliot said, chuckling.

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed at him, then turned her attention back to the road. "Say goodbye to Utah, El," she said as they blew past the sign, telling them they were now leaving Utah.

"So that means we're in Wyoming now?" Elliot guessed.

"Well done, Stabler. You get a gold star!" Olivia said, sounding like a kindergarten teacher as she laughed.

Elliot sighed as he looked at her. "God, Liv, I missed that so much."

"What, my sarcasm?" Olivia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Elliot said, his voice suddenly filled with a low, longing quality. "Your laugh," he told her. "I missed seeing the way your eyes light up, and the corners of them crinkle just a bit when you laugh. I mean, really laugh. You haven't been happy in a really long time."

Olivia glanced at him for a moment, bit her lip again, and looked back at the highway, following the signs for their exit.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Elliot asked, concerned.

"What?" Olivia replied, knowing what he meant, but unwilling to answer.

Elliot shifted in his seat. "Every time I say something even remotely complimentary, you bite your lip and look away from me. You've always done that, and I've never asked why."

Olivia took a deep breath and looked around, as if there was some way out of answering him. But they were in a car, in the middle of a highway in Wyoming, so there wasn't. "I'm just not used to hearing things like that, El. Having someone tell me how pretty I am, and how happy i make them, and tell ing me they love me. That's never...it's always been you, ya know?"

"I don't see the problem," Elliot said, grinning.

Olivia scoffed. "You know what I mean, El. My mother made sure I'd be insecure and anxious, no self-respect, for the rest of my life. She never, not once, told me anything like the things that have been coming out of your mouth."

"Well, she's blind, Liv," Elliot said. "Blind, stupid, cruel and so damn heartless. You never deserved any of it, baby. She never saw who you are, how amazing you are! Nothing she did to you was because of you, baby. It was all her. I wish you could understand that."

"I do," Olivia said quietly as she turned off the highway. "Doesn't mean I don't still feel…"

"Liv," Elliot interrupted, "I know how you feel. If anyone knows, it's me. But you gotta let _me_ in so I can change that. So we can fix each other. I'm not gonna hurt you, you have to trust me, Liv."

Olivia sighed as she got lost in her thoughts. She cursed under her breath, because driving was supposed to keep her from thinking.

Hours of silence rolled by, Elliot had fallen asleep, and Olivia finally pulled into the Cheyenne, Wyoming Turning Point Truck Stop. She found a parking space and turned off the car. She reached over and lightly shook Elliot awake.

"Huh?" Elliot asked, opening his eyes.

Olivia said nothing as she hit the switch and rolled the top up. She said nothing as she got out and grabbed her bag from the backseat. She was quiet as they walked into the truck stop, registered, and got keys for the shower rooms. She was speechless as they walked through the building to find the showers, and when they stopped at the door, that's when she spoke.

"You ever give me a reason to regret this, and I will kick your ass, Elliot Stabler," Olivia said, giving him a warning look.

"Did you regret it the first time?" Elliot asked, a small smirk on his face but deep fear in his eyes. He was afraid she'd say yes.

"I had a lot of walls up the first time, El. I regret that. And I regret running from you," Olivia said with a sigh. "Don't…don't let me do that again," she added.

Elliot bent his head and kissed her sweetly. "I won't, Liv. Trust me."

Olivia looked into his blue eyes, which were sparkling brighter than she'd ever seen them. She felt the nerves rolling off of her back as she said, "I do."

* * *

Serena Benson looked at the clock, then decided it was time to call someone. Her daughter had been gone for three days, and she was, though she hated to admit it, worried. She picked up the phone and called the Avery Police Department, and told them that her daughter had stolen the car.

"What's her name, ma'am?" the officer asked.

"Olivia," Serena said, her speech slurring. "Olivia Benson."

The cop heard the slurred quality to her voice and asked, "Serena?"

"Yeah, Sam, s'me," she mumbled angrily.

"And what is the make and model of the car, Serena?" He sounded skeptical.

"Blue," Serena spat. "Blue convertible. I don't know what the hell kind it is, Sam. Just bring her ass back her!"

"Serena," the cop named Sam said with a heavy sigh, "That's Olivia's car. My daughter and I were there when she bought it, it's in her name, she can't steal her own car."

"Sam," Serena barked, "Shut up! Find my daughter!"

"You're drunk, Serena," Sam said, his voice sounding disappointed. "She just graduated. Maybe she's at the beach with her friends."

Serena scoffed. "She doesn't have any friends, Sam."

"Oy, Serena," Sam said, his eyes rolling and his anger seeping through, "Yes she does. My daughter is one of them, and she's probably with her. I'm not going on a wild goose chase, and ripping Olivia away from the only peaceful week she's gonna have this summer, just because you're shitfaced and can't remember her telling you where she was going!"

"Sam! She ain't at the beach, she's gone!" Serena yelled.

Sam heard glasses clinking, and knew that she'd just poured another drink. "Ya know what, Serena. Stop drinking. If she's still gone when you sober up, then call me back." Sam slammed the phone down.

Serena, angry, threw the phone against the wall, shattering it. "That little bitch," she spat. Then, she brought the glass to her lips, and forgot all about Olivia being gone.

* * *

"You look very clean," Elliot said, smirking, as Olivia met him outside of the shower rooms.

"I look clean?" Olivia asked, her eyebrow rising to new heights. "That the best you got?"

Elliot chuckled. "No, but I figured it was safe. If I said what I'm really thinking, you'd probably get in the car and drive off to New York without me."

Olivia smirked and tossed her bag over her shoulder, heading back to the registration desk. "Try me. What are you really thinking?"

"Oh, uh," Elliot began, hesitant, as he reached out and ran his fingers through her wet hair, "I'm thinking that you look good wet. And about how badly I wanted to be in there with you, and how grateful I am to have you back. Really back."

Olivia looked stunned, peering up at him. She didn't look like she was gonna run, though. She smirked, leaned up, and kissed him. "There are other truck stops, El. We're gonna need another shower eventually. Play your cards right, and maybe next time we can, uh, conserve water." She winked at him and turned away.

Elliot blinked as he watched her turn from him, and he watched her walk away for a full minute before his brain started working again and told him to run. He caught up to her at the desk, slapped the shower-key back on the table and looked at Olivia. "What?" he asked.

Olivia laughed, walking back out to the car. She tossed her bag in the backseat, then opened the driver's side, about to get in.

"Liv, wait," Elliot said, looking up at the sky. "Wait."

"What is it, El?" Olivia questioned, trying to see what he saw in the sky.

Elliot climbed up on the hood of the car and leaned back, lying on it.

"What the hell are you…get the fuck off of my car, Elliot!" Olivia yelled. "Are you trying to give me heart attack?"

Elliot laughed and said, "No, baby, come here." He held out a hand, which she took with a pissed off and confused look in her eyes. He pulled her up, then pulled her close to him, easing her down to lay on his chest.

Olivia could hear his heart pounding. She closed her eyes, letting one hand run up his chest, resting on the opposite side from her head. "What are we doing?" she asked, sounding breathless as she breathed in his scent.

"Just look up, Liv," Elliot said.

Olivia looked up and saw that the sky was clear. Very clear. Every star was visible and shining bright. "Wow," she whispered.

"Yeah," Elliot said, nodding. "I didn't want to ignore this. I didn't want to miss this, ya know?" He turned his head and bent it, kissing Olivia's forehead. "Do you remember our first kiss, Liv?"

Olivia smiled. "Which one? The one in third grade, when you kissed me on the cheek and I punched you in the face? The one in seventh grade, when we were at Cheryl Hoffman's party and were playing Truth or Dare, and you kissed me, and I punched you in the face? The one in eighth grade when you told me you lost a bet, and you kissed me, then ducked because you thought I was gonna punch you in the face?"

Elliot, laughing, said, "No, baby, the one that mattered."

"They all mattered," Olivia said softly, her eyes fluttering closed again.

"I know they did, baby," Elliot said, kissing her head again. "You remember it though? The real one, our freshman year, Liv?"

Olivia nodded, Elliot felt her nod against his chest. "You were waiting for me outside aftera track meet, you wanted to walk me home because it was late."

"It was just an excuse," Elliot said, resting his head against hers. "I wanted to be alone with you."

Olivia laughed a little. "I know that now," she said. "I remember you were so nervous, you did that whole I'm-pretending-to-yawn-so-I-can-put-my-arm-around-you thing."

"You made me nervous, Liv," Elliot chuckled. He kissed the top of her head one more time and added, "You still do."

Olivia lifted her head off of his chest and looked at him. "You don't exactly make me feel calm, El." She leaned over him, wrapping herself partially around him, almost on top of him. She smiled, looking down at him. "I'm nervous."

Elliot reached up and brushed her hair back, looping it behind her ear as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Me, too, baby," he whispered. "But do you rememeber when I stopped you? I told you to wait, I told you I had something to show you."

"You took me into the woods," Olivia said, bending her head just a bit, rubbing her nose against his. "You led me to this huge willow tree."

"It was a weeping willow," Elliot said with a nod. " I pulled you down, to sit under it, and we spent a few minutes looking up at the sky, trying to find shooting stars."

"We didn't see any," Olivia laughed. "I told you they were just a myth, because I'd never seen one."

Elliot laughed and nodded, rubbing his nose against hers again. "You remember what I told you after that?"

Olivia laughed, pressing closer to him. "You told me that it was an old Irish myth that if two people in love kissed in front of a weeping willow, they'd be together forever."

"And then I asked you if you wanted to see if it was true," Elliot said, slowly wrapping his arms around her, bringing his hand up around her neck, squeezing gently. "Becuase I was in love with you."

Olivia knew what was happening, she was powerless to stop it. "And then you kissed me," she whispered, dropping her head to his. Their lips touched, Elliot ran his tongue over her lips, and Olivia very willingly let him kiss her, the way only he could.

As the kiss deepened, Elliot knotted his hand in her damp hair, pulling her down, closer, harder, making sure she could feel this kiss all the way down to her toes, making sure she could feel what he was feeling.

Olivia instinctively inched further on top of him, letting him pull her impossibly close. She really did feel everything, all the way down to her toes, and she didn't want to stop. However, lack of oxygen forced her to pull away. She rested her forehead against his as they both struggled to fill their lungs with fresh air, trying to do it as fast as possible so they could go back to kissing.

"I think it was true," Elliot said. "I think we're gonna be together forever, Liv. Whether it's just as friends, or what we are now, or more that that."

"What are we now?" Olivia asked, trailing small kisses down his neck.

Elliot chuckled, moaned a little, and said, "Happy." He reached for her face and, cupping her chin, she brought her head up and looked at her. "We are safe, and we are happy."

"For now," Olivia said, a flash of fear and doubt in her eyes.

Elliot kissed her lightly, pulled back to look at her, and said, "Now is all that matters. We'll worry about the future when we get there." He pulled her back down and cuddled up with her, and they watched the sky. They were both secretly looking for shooting stars, and when one actually flew across the clear Wyoming midnight, they both saw it and gasped quietly. They both made a wish. The same wish. Fate was feeling generous that night, their wish would come true in Omaha, Nebraska.

**A/N: What happens in Omaha? Does Serena stop drinking, or find another way to find her daughter? And what happens with Joe Stabler finds out his son is not staying with friends? Ready to continue the journey? **


	5. Omaha, Nebraska

**A/N: What happens in Omaha? And what happens with Joe Stabler finds out his son is not staying with friends? **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters, but he certainly didn't create 'em like this. TStabler© did. Story and contents belong to her. Thanks.**

"Liv," Elliot mumbled, waking up in the backseat, empty armed. He could have sworn he'd fallen asleep with Olivia wrapped in a tight hug. "Liv?" he asked, opening his eyes and sitting up.

"I'm here, El," Olivia called from the driver's seat. "Didn't think the car was moving by itself, did you?"

Elliot laughed as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He rose, thankful the top was down, and climbed into the passenger seat. "You look happy," he said, noting the smirk on her face. He took the time to study her as he buckled his seatbelt. He saw her sunglasses high on her nose, the wind blowing through her hair, and the more relaxed way she was carrying herself. "You look wonderful, actually."

"Must be the clear Nebraska air," Olivia said with a chuckle. "I _feel _wonderful, El," she said, looking at him.

Elliot smiled at her and said, "Me, too." He furrowed his brow and looked at the clock. "Nebraska?" he asked, looking at her. "How long have you been driving?"

Olivia shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, El. I stayed with you, until you were dead to the world. I got out of the car, changed, and started driving. I watched the sunrise, and for the first time in my life I wasn't afraid of what the day was gonna bring."

Elliot reached over and ran a hand through her hair. "Good," he said. "You never have to be afraid again, you know that right?" he asked.

Olivia looked at him briefly and nodded, though she wasn't quite sure she believed him.

"Where are we, babe?" Elliot asked, looking out the front and side of the car at his surroundings.

"Right now?" Olivia asked, then she hummed. "The last sign we passed said we were in Sidney but that was an hour ago. I've been driving since around four, El, and I've never been to Nebraska. I'm just staying on the highway."

Elliot chuckled. "No maps, right," he said shaking his head.

Olivia laughed. "Any crazy Nebraska fantasies, there, buddy?"

"Uh, no," Elliot said, scrunching his face up and shaking his head. "I know that they have a lot of cattle, and I know that Lincoln had a cabin around here somewhere. That's about it."

Olivia laughed and said, "That would be Lincoln, El. Lincoln, Nebraska. And we're nowhere near there."

"I know that," Elliot said, smirking. "So, when are we stopping?"

"You just woke up," Olivia said. "Oh, right, you're a guy. You need to pee and eat before your brain can start functioning."

Elliot scoffed and gave her a wide smirk, "You're telling me you don't have pee and you're not…wait," he stopped, and his eyes softened. "You just…Liv, you just made a dig…baby, you're back!"

Olivia tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. "I guess I am," she said with a chuckle.

"I haven't seen you like this in so long," Elliot sighed. "You were always like this with me, and then you just…"

"Yeah," Olivia interrupted. "I'd like to forget that, okay?"

Elliot shifted in his seat, and looked at her seriously. "You knew I would never hurt you, Liv. Just like you know now, that I won't. Why didn't you just tell her…"

"You remember when Kara told you I was hit by a drunk driver crossing Fennel Avenue, and you ran across town to get to the hospital?" Olivia said, cutting him off.

Elliot nodded. "Yeah, I was petrified. I would have stayed by your side the whole three days, but your mother…"

"I wasn't hit by a car, Elliot," Olivia said, interrupting him again. "That was what my mother did to me when she found out I slept with you." She glanced at him out of the corner of her shade-covered eye, and said, "I_ did_ tell her she couldn't stop me, El. I _did_ tell her how much I loved you, and I tried like hell to get her to see that you were nothing like the men she brought home. After I was done yelling at her, she…"

Elliot held up hand and shook his head. "Oh, God, Liv. That's why you…I thought I had done something wrong, and when I got that letter I thought that you weren't fighting hard enough. God, I feel like such a dick."

"Can we stop talking about it now? Olivia asked, squeezing the steering wheel tightly. "I told you, I wanna forget that part."

Elliot nodded, swallowing the urge to get angry, since the person he was angry at wasn't here, and he said, "Yeah, baby. Consider it forgotten."

"Good," Olivia said, taking a breath. "I'm gonna pull off here, we'll eat, you can pee, and we'll ask if there's anything to do on this road."

Elliot smirked. "For someone who didn't plan this, you've certainly got this all under control."

"I'm making this shit up as I go, El," Olivia laughed. "You're just coming along for the ride."

"Liv," Elliot said, leaning over the console, "I love you. I'd follow you anywhere."

Olivia looked at him as she brought the car to a stop at the light. "I love you, too, El," she said, almost whispering. "I don't want you to follow me. I want you walking right beside me. Always."

Elliot gave her a quick kiss as the light turned green, and he said, "Your wish is my command."

* * *

Sergeant Joe Stabler was sitting at his desk, typing up a report, when he glanced at the calendar. "Hey, Sam?" he called to his partner. "When are the kids coming back?"

Sam looked up at Joe and furrowed his brow. "Uh, Julia and Kara got back last night. I don't know if the boys were with them. They may have stayed back to do some fishing or something."

"Has Brian called you, though?" Joe asked, biting his left thumb nail.

"Yeah, Bri and Jules called me every night. Livia hasn't called Serena, but who the hell can blame her, right?" Sam chuckled. "Why, ain't ya heard from your boy?"

Joe shook his head. "No, Sam. In fact, I don't even remember him asking if he could go anywhere!"

Sam shrugged. "You signed waiver forms, Joe. Technically, that boy of yours doesn't need your permission. Maybe he headed out to school, ya know? He needs to find a job, a place to live out there, it's a rough city. Does Bernie know anything?"

"Bernie doesn't know what the hell day it is, and she's got five other kids she's chasing after. She doesn't remember Elliot's even our kid half the time. Damn mental shit," Joe babbled.

"Have you called him?" Sam asked, narrow-eyed.

"No," Joe said. "Up until now, I didn't realize I needed to." He got up from his chair, pulled out his cell phone, and bolted from the squadroom.

Sam shook his head. "Can't let your damn son alone, can ya, bastard?" he asked himself, pulling his own cell phone out and dialing, hoping to get through before Joe did.

* * *

"Who was on the phone?" Olivia asked as she and Elliot left the diner and walked to the car.

"Don't worry about it," Elliot said. "How fast does this thing go?" he asked, running a hand over the hood of her convertible.

Olivia looked at him with her head tilted "She's a classic, El. She can handle one-twenty, but I've never had the balls to push her passed eighty, why?"

Elliot smirked. "Grow a pair, baby," he said, moving to the passenger side.

Olivia smiled at him, then scraped her teeth along her bottom lip slowly, contemplating. "I have a better idea," she said. She tossed him the keys and said, "You've already got a pair."

"Liv!" Elliot cried, catching the keys, "You said that you' never let anyone else drive this thing. You treat her like your child!"

Olivia smirked as she walked by him and hopped in the passenger seat. "Well," she said, getting settled, "That makes you her father the, doesn't it?"

Elliot's eyes widened, then he smirked and chuckled at her. "If you say so, baby," he said, hopping into the driver's seat. Olivia leaned over and grabbed his collar, yanking, pulling his face toward hers. "If you hurt my baby, I will kill you," she threatened. Then she gave him a hard kiss and leaned back in her seat. "Now, why do we need to go...woah!"

Before she had even finished her question, Elliot had peeled out of the parking lot and practically burnt the rubber off of Olivia' tires as he sped back toward the entrance to the interstate.

"Can you not try to kill us, please?" Olivia asked.

"I'm actually stopping us from getting killed, babe." Elliot hit the button on the radio and looked at Olivia. "That phone call? It was my dad's partner. You know Sam. My father is now pissed off and looking for me, so if we can get to New York faster..."

"What did you tell him?" Olivia asked. "You didn't tell him you were with me, did you?"

Elliot looked at her and raised his eyebrow. "No, why?"

"Shit, Sam's gonna know, El," Olivia said. "You know he is. He knows that if I was in trouble you'd be the one getting me out of it"

"Liv," Elliot said, smirking, "If Sam wasn't completely on our side here, he wouldn't have called to warn me that my dad was gonna call. That's why I..might have accidentally left my phone in the bathroom at that diner."

Olivia's eyes widened. "What? El, all your numbers, your banking..."

Elliot cut her off as he held up his SIM card. "I'm not an idiot, baby."

Olivia shook her head as she put her shades back on, then turned around to rummage through a bag in the backseat. She found what she was looking for and slid the plastic frames onto Elliot's face. "Better?" she asked.

"Much," Elliot said with a smile. "Thanks." He pressed down on the gas a bit, going faster, then he turned to Olivia. "We should get a hotel room tonight," he told her. "Ya know, for the shower, the bed. We need to get gas, too, and the girl could use an oil change."

Olivia furrowed her brow. "Can we afford all that?" she asked, then she added, "Please slow down."

Elliot laughed. "We have plenty of money, Liv," he said. "I asked the waiter where the nicest hotel off Eighty was, he said The Rustica Inn in Omaha."

"That's at least eight hours from here!" Olivia laughed.

Elliot shook his head. "Not the way I'm driving, babe."

"No," Olivia said, clutching the door handle, "The way you're driving we'll be there in ten minutes. Air lifted. From the scene of the horrific accident we're gonna be in."

Elliot laughed. "You've really never driven with me, Liv. I'm not gonna kill us, I'm just gonna get us where we're going faster."

Four hours of mindless chatter, singing along with the radio, and with each other later, they pulled into the parking lot of the Rustica Inn. Elliot turned off the car, still laughing, and looked at Olivia. "God, that was fun!" he said. "You and I should record an album, Liv."

Olivia laughed and said, "If we want people to go deaf."

Elliot shook his head at her and hit the button to bring the top up. He got out and took the bags out of the back, then helped Olivia out. "Car looks good, huh?"

Olivia nodded. "You didn't have to pay for the car wash, too, El."

"Yeah, I did. I'm not driving across the country in a dusty blue convertible when it's...did you realize that it's almost the same blue as my eyes?"

"Yeah," Olivia said, nodding once, "I did." She cleared her throat and said, "Why do you think I bought it?"

Elliot looked at her, stunned, and pulled her close. He kissed her and said, "You amazing girl, I love you. Come on, Liv. A real bed awaits."

They walked into the hotel, up to the front desk, and paid, in cash, for one room for one night. They were taken to their room, and Olivia went right into the bathroom. Elliot waited as she showered, then he heard her calling him. He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Did you just call me, baby?"

"Yeah," Olivia said. "Come in here for a minute?"

"Uh, but you're in the shower," Elliot said, dryly. His nerves had just committed suicide.

Olivia laughed. "Really? I thought it was just raining in the bathroom! El, come here, please."

Elliot held his breath and opened the door, he was hit with the steam and the smell of her body wash, and he drooled a little as he thought about her naked, wet, body behind the curtain. He cleared his throat and asked, "What, Liv?"

Olivia slid open the curtain a little and poked her head out. "It's not a truck stop, but I think you've earned it," she said, tilting her head. "But if you'd rather take your shower alone, fine." She slid the curtain closed with a chuckle.

It took a moment to register, but when it did his clothes practically flew off. He grabbed the curtain and slid it open, then climbed in with her. He was careful about her plastic-wrapped and casted arm as he pulled her toward him and took the cloth out of his hands.

It was intimate, washing each other, reacquainting themselves with each other's body, and it was sensual, not sexual. They kissed, softly and sweetly, as they rinsed off under the hot water, and when they climbed out, enveloping themselves in the hotel-provided robes, Elliot pulled Olivia close to him and kissed her again.

It was at that moment he realized that his wish, the one he'd made on the hood of the car that matched his eyes, the one he made on the first shooting star he'd ever seen, had come true. He had Olivia back, and she loved him, and she trusted him enough to let her guard down with him. What he didn't know, was that Olivia had wished for the same thing, and as their tongues danced, as they walked their way to the first real bed they'd seen in three days, she was thanking her lucky shooting star for him, too.

**A/N: Next stop? Next memory? Next move for Joe and Serena? Want them? Clicky click on that lil' button!**


	6. Davenport, Iowa Pt 1

**A/N: More memories, more threats, and a surprising comment from Joe Stabler! **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this completely fabricated story.**

Olivia woke up, in a cold sweat and panting, almost screaming. She didn't even know where she was, adding to the fear.

Elliot popped up, grabbing her. "Liv, baby, what is it?"

Olivia jumped and tried to wriggle out of his arms.

"Liv, honey, it's me! Elliot! Calm down!" He soothed rubbing her back.

Olivia took a few shallow breaths, calming down as she collapsed into his arms. "Elliot," she whispered, holding him tighter.

"Yeah, baby," Elliot whispered back. "I'm right here," he told her.

Olivia pushed away from him, leaped off the bed and said, "We need to go, El."

"Now?" Elliot asked "Baby, what happened?"

Olivia, grabbing her bag, threw Elliot his shirt. "We have to get out of here, Elliot! Now! They're looking for us, and they're gonna..."

"They are four days behind us! Liv, baby, my dad can't...in a couple of weeks you're gonna be..." He saw the look on Olivia's face, and knew she was scared, angry, and that she was right. "Okay, yeah, we'll leave." He got out of the bed, pulled on his shirt, and rifled through his bag, finding socks. "What's got you so scared, baby?" he asked, slipping on his sneakers.

Olivia shook her head. "What she's gonna do to me...to us..."

"Baby," Elliot interrupted, rising to his feet, "I'm not gonna let her touch you." He pulled her into his arms, holding her close, as the sun just started to peek out over the Omaha skyline.

* * *

"Sam," Joe yelled across the room. "Any luck tracing my kid's phone?"

Sam shook his head. "No activity on that number in days. Phone's off. Can't activate the GPS. Sorry, Joe," he said, smirking. He knew that Elliot was leaving to save his own ass, and the life of someone he loved very much. Avery was a small town, and no matter how hard people tried, they never had any secrets. Lives were open books in Avery, and Elliot's and Olivia's were practically bestsellers. Sam sighed as he sat down, taking relief in the fact that they were safe. At least, for now.

His relaxed state was short lived, though.

Serena Benson burst into the squadroom, stumbling. "Sam," she spat, "You and the rest of your idiot cops need to find my daughter!"

Joe turned his head. "Livia's gone, too?" he asked. That's when it started to make sense to him. "What did you do to her Reena?"

"Nothing the little bitch didn't deserve!" Serena yelled. "You find her, Joe, and you bring her back here! She is in a world of rubble. Trouble," she said with a hiccup.

Joe looked at Sam, his eyes narrow. "Sammy, you know, don't you?"

Sam was silent, watching Joe's face.

Joe continued. "Sam, what did Reena do to her daughter? Do you think Elliot took Livia somewhere...to get her away from..."

"If I tell you," Sam sighed, "Are you gonna be pissed?"

Joe looked at Serena, who was yelling at anyone who'd listen. "No, Sam," Joe said. "I think, if that's what happened here, I'm gonna more proud of him than I have ever been."

* * *

Olivia was driving faster than she ever had before, surprising herself. She was actually having a great time, the top down, the wind blowing through her hair, her sunglasses on, the radio blasting, and Elliot right beside her. "I'm gonna be sorry when we get there," she said, chuckling as Elliot sang, more on key this time.

"Why, baby?" he asked, still singing.

"Because this has been...amazing, El," Olivia replied.

"It's not over, yet," Elliot laughed. "There's still a lot of amazing left, baby."

Olivia smiled at him. "But when we get to the city, and life takes over..."

"We'll still be together, honey. You know this. Hey, baby, how about this," Elliot said, grabbing her hand. "We'll take a road trip, every summer. Just you and me and this convertible."

Olivia looked at him, smirking. "I like that idea," she said, nodding.

"It'll be awesome, baby. To take a break from school and forget about life for a while. Like we are now." Elliot brought her hand to his lips, kissing it. "I love you," he said, smiling softly.

"I love you, too," Olivia replied, returning his smile. "I think..." she broke off, shaking her head.

"You think what, baby?" Elliot asked, squeezing her hand.

Olivia sighed. "I think...that it's more than love. Though, I'm not really the right person to..."

"You're right," Elliot interrupted. "It's so much more than that."

Olivia took a breath and nodded, switched gears with his hand held in hers, and moved into the right lane. "Look at that," she said, jutting her chin forward. "Welcome to Iowa, El."

Elliot laughed. "Thanks," he said. "One step closer, baby."

"I still can't believe you remember some silly thing I said when I was a kid," Olivia said, chuckling.

Elliot leaned over, kissed her cheek, and said, "I remember everything you've ever said to me. Everything you've ever worn in my presence, every facial expression you've ever made. Livia," he said, using Avery's name for it's golden child, "I memorized you, baby."

Olivia froze, only for a second, as his words landed. "Good," she said, smirking. "Because I'd hate to think that I'd done the same damn thing for no reason."

"Really, baby?" Elliot asked. "You did the..."

"My car matches your eyes, Elliot," Olivia said, giving him a look.

Elliot smirked at her and nodded, kissing her cheek again. "I can't believe there hasn't been much traffic on this highway. We have been very lucky," he said looking around at the near empty stretch of road.

"Lucky? No," Olivia said, shaking her head. "Just smart. We head out early, drive fast, we've been pulling over and stopping when the road would usually be crowded."

Elliot laughed, a hearty laugh. "No directions, no maps, but you definitely planned this."

Olivia's jaw dropped and she scoffed. "It's common sense, baby!"

"Davenport," Elliot said, laughing.

"What?" Olivia asked, confused.

"Davenport, Iowa. There's a great little park there. We can stop in town, get a tent and a sleeping bag, I'll get a new phone, and we'll spend tonight..."

"Camping?" Olivia asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you remember what happened the last time we went camping?"

"Yes," Elliot said, nodding. "That's why I wanna go." He smirked and added, "That's also why we're only getting one sleeping bag."

Olivia chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Just because I got a little scared and jumped into your..."

"A little?" Elliot asked, wide-eyed. "Baby, you were petrified!"

"I don't like spiders," Olivia said, matter-of-factly. "And...I wanted to be close to you."

Elliot smiled at her. "Tonight, you will be in my arms from the beginning, honey. I'll keep the spiders, and the nightmares, far away from you."

Olivia looked at him out of the corners of her eyes, smiled, and let out a sigh of relief. "I know you will," she said softly. She turned off the highway, taking the exit leading to Davenport, knowing that he would do both of those things tonight, and possibly, for the rest of her life.

**A/N: Next, CAMPING IN IOWA! Do they get closer? Or farther apart? And what does Joe do? Because he DOES something.**


	7. Davenport, Iowa Pt 2

**A/N: Camping, or something like it. Joe has a meeting with someone, for a surprising reason. And what did Serena do? **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this completely fabricated story.**

"Forty-nine seventy-five," the cashier at the small outdoor-equipment shop said, with a thick Iowa drawl.

Elliot handed the man three twenties and waited for his change, catching Olivia looking warily at the fishing hooks on the display at the register. "We're not going fishing," he said, nudging her out of her trance.

"I know," Olivia said, absently rubbing the back of her neck. "They look, uh, sharp."

"Yeah," Elliot said. "They're designed to bait and hook fish, baby, they're sharp," he chuckled.

Olivia dropped her eyes and said, softly, "I know they are."

Elliot raised an eyebrow, determined to get whatever dark secret she had in there out by sunset. He grabbed the two bags and his change, thanked the man, and left, getting behind the wheel of the car he now shared with Olivia. He whipped out the new cell phone he'd just purchased from some hole-in-the-wall retailer and shoved his SIM card into it and turned it on, watching it blip and blink. He handed it to Olivia. "Push the pound key, dial one-two-five, and hit send for me, baby. Keep it on speaker."

Olivia did what she was asked, and then chuckled. "Do you remember when we used to text each other, sitting right next to each other, because what we had to say…"

"Shouldn't have been heard by anyone else," Elliot finished with a smirk, pulling onto the highway. "Yeah, I remember. Usually something kinky, or something insulting someone we were with, or just you telling me you loved me in not-so-many-words. How did you…yeah, you used to tell me I was the sunshine…"

"In my otherwise dark and abysmal existence. You still are," Olivia laughed, hitting the number three to activate Elliot's phone, proving she could multitask. "Do you know where you're going?"

Elliot looked at her, stupified. Had she really just asked him that? "No, Liv, I don't. Neither one of us does. I'm just following…"

"Because you missed the turn," Olivia interrupted, smirking, pointing behind her.

Elliot shook his head and scoffed. "You must have distracted me with your beauty and charm."

"And my use of big words like 'abysmal' and 'existence." She winked at him, blew him a kiss, and held on as he took advantage of the empty stretch of road and made a very illegal U-turn.

Elliot whooped and laughed, and as he hit the gas to get back to their turnoff, he said, "I love this car!"

* * *

"Do you know what you're accusing her of, Joe?" the gruff sounding District Attorney asked, folding his arms.

"I do, and I can prove it," Joe said.

The D.A. tilted his head. "Didn't you come in here two days ago asking me to put a BOLO out on Livia and your kid? Now you want me to tell troopers to keep them out of Avery?"

Joe sighed. "Don't get me wrong, Frank, I'm pissed at my son for up and leaving, but I know why he did it! He knew Livia was leaving for a reason, and this is the reason! I have pictures, Frank! A whole file on the girl! She kept saying she was walking into doors, falling down stairs. Frank, she's seventeen with the highest IQ this town's ever seen! She's a strong, fast, athletic girl, she's not stupid or that much of a klutz!"

Frank took the file from Joe, flipped through it, and gasped at the pictures. "Joe, you actually bought her load of bull? There's a clear handprint on her throat in this photo!" he said, tapping the Polaroid.

Joe nodded. "I knew she was lying, Frank! She's my son's best friend, and ex-girlfriend, but I had to take her statements as she gave them to me. She never told me it was Reena. But she told Elliot, once. Elliot told me, and there's a formal statement from him in the back. It's not much to go on, but it's enough. Isn't it?"

"Find her, Joe. Get her to tell you everything. We can't lock Reena up for seventeen years of abuse based on one second-hand accusation. She's gotta tell you that all of these injuries were caused by her mother. And I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you've only got three weeks to do it. If Livia files the complaint as an adult, there's nothing we can charge Reena with."

Joe took the file back from Frank and shook his head. He didn't know how to find her, or his son, and he only knew one person who could call them and get an answer.

* * *

Elliot hopped out of the car, grabbing the sleeping bag and the tent he'd bought. He turned to Olivia and said, "Stay there. Watch," in a cocky manner.

Olivia smirked as she stayed and watched Elliot struggle to put up the tent, all by himself. She chuckled when a pole hit him in the face. "You need help?" she asked.

"No," was Elliot's quick reply as he rubbed his forehead. "I got it."

Olivia pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay, He-Man," she quipped, leaning back on the hood of the car.

Elliot grunted and fussed, finally getting the tent up. He pulled off his shirt, sufficiently sweaty, and wiped his brow with his arm, then rolled out the sleeping bag and tossed it into the tent.

Olivia gasped at the sheer beauty of the man before her, licking her lips. She sat up, shifting as she crossed her feet, watching him more intently.

Elliot chuckled. "See something you like, Benson?" he asked steping out of the tent, arrogant.

"Nope," Olivia said, a small smirk at her lips. "See something I'm falling in love with, though," she added, seeing the slightly hurt expression on his face.

Elliot walked closer to her, leaned over the car, crawled onto the hood, and over her, peered down at her and asked, "Falling in love with?"

Olivia looked up at him, hovering over her, sweaty, muscles rippling, smelling more like him than he had since their journey had begun, and she got lost in his blue yes. She took a deep breath, one that made her chest hurt, and replied, "Fell in love with. A long time ago."

Elliot nodded. "That's better," he said, dropping his head to kiss her. He let himself fall onto her, knowing he wouldn't crush her, and continued to kiss her, languidly, as the sunset reflected through the trees and off of the hood. He rolled over a bit, pulling her close to him, kissing her on their sides for a moment, then rolling onto his back, pulling her on top of him, continuing their kiss as he forced her legs around him.

Olivia moaned, feeling every ready inch of him straining against his jeans, digging into her, and she involuntarily bucked her hips into his, making him return her moan with one of his own. It felt so familiar but so new, to be doing this with him. Familiar, in that they'd done it before and all of the emotions were still there. Intact. Stronger. But it felt new in that they were free to do it. She was. No one would punish her for it.

"Liv," Elliot groaned, running his hands down her back, "Baby, I don't wanna make love to you on the hood of your car, but if you keep moving like that…"

Olivia kissed him, shutting him up, and smiled against his lips. She ran her hands lightly, fingertips only, up his bare arms, giving him chills. "We could wait, El," she whispered, kissing him again. "But do either of us really want to?" she teased, licking and biting at his lips.

Elliot was saved from answering her when his cell phone rang. He'd only given one person, besides Olivia, his new number. "That's Sam," he said, sitting up, with Olivia still on his lap. He reached into his jeans pocket and fished out the phone. "Hello," he said, nerves clear in his voice. "Yeah. Yes. No, I'm not bringing her…no way. She will, I know she will, but can it be done over the…thanks, Sam, and tell him…tell him I'm okay. We're okay." He hung up and answered Olivia's inquisitive look. "My dad wants you to call him, when you can, they're gonna record it. He wants you to tell him everything your mother did to you. Apparently, she walked into the squadroom trashed, looking for you, and he wants to lock her up before she takes it upon herself to try and find you."

Olivia tensed up. "I can't do that!" she almost yelled. "I can't…"

"Baby, I'm gonna be right here, holding your hand while you're talking," Elliot promised, brushing her hair back.

Olivia leaped off of him and slid off of the car. "No! I can't talk to him! I can't tell him…everything, Elliot! Then I would actually have to admit that it all happened. I would have to face what she did, what I let her do, and I can't do that! Why the fuck do you think I'm running from her?"

"You haven't even told me everything yet, have you?" Elliot asked, sliding off of the hood himself and walking over to her, brushing the few tears that had fallen away.

Olivia shook her head. "I was hoping I would never have to," she admitted, turning to face the skyline, through the trees, where the last seconds of sunset could be seen.

Elliot wrapped his arms around her, from behind her, and kissed the back of her head. "Admitting everything she did, and knowing you survived it, won't that make you feel stronger? Won't that make you more proud of yourself? Liv, hiding from it all, pretending it didn't happen, that's denying who you really are, in a way. That's what's keeping you so unsure and self-conscious."

"Yeah," Olivia sighed. "But pretending some of it never happened, El, also allows me to pretend my mother wasn't really a monster."

"We won't worry about this tonight," Elliot said, running his hands down her arms as they watched the sun finally submerge behind the mountains. "We'll call Sam tomorrow, from the car, you can use my phone, and you'll tell them everything. Right?"

Olivia turned in his embrace. "Right," she said with a shrug. "But I should probably drive, keep the phone on speaker, since some of what I say would cause you to crash into the nearest tree, and then I'd have to kill you for wrecking my car."

"Even through all of this, you still have your sense of humor," Elliot chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose. he moved to the car and grabbed their duffle bags.

"I have to," Olivia said, walking off toward the tent. "If I didn't, I'd go crazy."

Elliot tilted his head. "True," he said, following Olivia into the canvas shelter. He dropped the bags and picked something else up. "Look," he said, holding up a spray-can. "Just in case."

"Bug spray," Olivia laughed.

"Kills spiders on contact," Elliot said proudly. "See, your man knows how to take care of you."

"I never said he didn't," Olivia said with a small smile. "That's new though."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "What, the spray? Yeah, I got it when we bought the…"

Olivia laughed and cut him off. "No, you dope. You taking care of me. No one ever has, ya know? I don't know if I'm gonna like this. I'm pretty damned independent, have been since I was four, so if I start fighting you on certain things…"

"Baby," Elliot stopped her, "Just don't. Okay? You deserve to be taken care of, at least for a little while. Give yourself a break. You know I'm not gonna hurt you, you know I'm not gonna take advantage of you."

"Yeah, you've had plently of chances to do that, and you haven't," Olivia laughed, dropping her jeans and reaching into a black bag for flannel pajama bottoms.

"I have one right now, actually," Elliot joked with his eyebrow raised.

"But you're not gonna take it," Olivia dared, pulling her pants up and yanking her shirt over her head. "Are you?"

"Don't you dare use that tone with me," Elliot warned playfully. "You know I don't like to be provoked." He chuckled and shook his head. "You know I would never do that to you, baby."

Olivia grinned as she pulled her tank top over her head and toed and wiggled her way into the sleeping bag. "I know, El," she mumbled, making herself comfortable.

Elliot changed his pants quickly, and jumped into the bag with her, wrapping his arms around her for protection, warmth, comfort, and love. He snuggled closer and felt her snuggling back into him, sighing in contentment. He ran his hands over her body gently and kissed her neck. "I love you," he whispered, grazing his hands back up, back down, caressing her lightly as he continued to peck her neck. "I love you so much," he told her against her skin, wrapping his arms around her. He found a spot on her neck, one he knew well, and he began to suck and nibble on it.

Olivia moaned and rolled over to face him. "So much for not taking chances," she mumbled, kissing him and rolling him down flat, easing on top of him.

Elliot moaned at the sudden contact and squeezed her to him tighter, deepening the kiss and using one arm to wrap her legs around him. "I think you're the one taking the chance here, baby," he whispered into her ear as he kissed her neck, the spot behind her ear that only he knew about.

"One of us had to," Olivia moaned back to him, lightly kissing her way down his chest.

Elliot absently began playing with her hair as she moved lower and moved her hands toward his waist, but when he realized what she was about to do, he sat up and scooted back an inch. "We don't have to do this," he told her. "Before…I mean, I was just kidding when…"

"I'm not kidding, El," Olivia said, tugging at the waistband of his pants. "I've wanted this, wanted you, since Vegas," she said. "I'm not afraid to be with you anymore, El."

"Liv," Elliot whispered, cupping her face, "Baby, are you sure?"

Olivia smiled at him and nodded, kissing him. "We're alone, we're far, far away from anyone who's going to beat me to a bloody pulp for making love to you, we just watched a very romantic sunset together, I love you and you love me. That alone should be reason enough to…"

Elliot stopped her talking with a kiss. "We're not rushing this, are we?" Elliot asked, knowing that if they did this, and she flipped, he'd wake up to find her gone.

"We went slower than I thought we would," Olivia chuckled. "I thought for sure I'd cave and jump you in that hotel room. I practically seduced you and you didn't even…"

"I love you," Elliot said, interrupting again. "I can wait. I'd wait forever for you."

Olivia pushed him back down gently, sliding her hands over his chest. "You don't have to," she whispered, kissing him. They kissed, feeling every emotion they'd kept bottled up in the year they'd spent apart, and Elliot tugged lightly on her pants, knowing he was treading in very dangerous waters.

Olivia moved her hips, helping him, making it easier to slide them off, and he did so with gentle care. She reached down and pushed, shoving his bottoms and boxers down and laughing as he kicked them off.

Elliot reached out a hand and lifted her tank top, raising it up and off of her, tossing it over her head, watching it slide down the side of the tent. He took in the sight of her, and felt his eyes burn. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, than he imagined her in his dreams every night. He brushed back her hair and pulled her down close to him, then rolled them over. While on top of her, he slowly peeled off her panties, tossing them to the side. Then he repeated the action with her bra. "You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Olivia tilted her head. "I don't…"

"Shh," Elliot whispered, stopping her. He moved over her body slowly and found every single scar, every dark mark on her body, and he kissed each one lightly, bringing tears to her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked with a sniffle.

Elliot brought his eyes to meet hers, kissed her lips softly, and as he reached for his wallet out of his bag, he said, "You're perfect, Liv. Every scar, every bruise, each one makes you who you are. I love each and every one of them, because they prove how strong, resilient and brave you really are. They make you more of the woman I love than you would be without them. Wear them, baby, like battle wounds. Proudly."

Olivia kissed him again, speechless at his words. She took his wallet out of his hands, knowing what he was looking for, and found the foil package, sliding it out. She threw the wallet back into his bag and turned the condom around in her hands. "Why are my initials on this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I wanted people to know who it was meant for," Elliot smirked. He went to take it from her, but she stopped him, and instead, opened it herself, with the help of her teeth. "That's so hot," Elliot mumbled, not sure if he was speaking out loud.

Olivia chuckled and raised her eyebrows, pulling the rubber ring out of the foil and reaching for Elliot. He helped her, but marveled at the feeling of her hands on him. He eased himself down over her and kissed her, pressing into her gently, but before he could get more than an inch of himself inside of her, his phone rang again.

"Damn it, Sam," he cursed, pulling out, though he wasn't really in, and rushing to find his phone in his bag. He found it and answered, "It better be fucking important, Sam!" Elliot listened, his eyes widened, and he rose to his feet, scrambling around naked trying to find his clothes. He threw Olivia her underwear and made a hand-gesture, telling her to hurry and get dressed. "Thanks, Sam. He's not mad at…oh, great, wonderful, thank you. Yeah. We will. I will, you know that. Bye."

"What?" Olivia asked, panicking, as she, too, got dressed quickly.

Elliot, only in his jeans, rolled up the sleeping bag. "We gotta go, baby. Sam just got a call from my dad, who was at your house trying to talk to your mother. She's gone."

Olivia barked, "What?"

"Gone, Liv. Her mail, at least two days worth, was still in the mailbox. My dad thinks she left right after they kicked her out of the station. Sam said he thinks she's coming after us," Elliot explained. "Did you tell anyone where you were going?"

"I didn't even know where I was going until you got in the car with me!" Olivia yelled.

"Okay, yeah, I knew that," Elliot said, breathing. "Baby, we gotta calm down. We're not in any danger, here. I just wanna put a bit more distance between us and them."

"Them?" Olivia questioned.

Elliot nodded, biting his lip. "My dad's going after her, meaning, in essence, he's coming after us, too. Sam told me he was pissed, but I don't know if it's at me, you, or your mother, and I don't wanna be there to find out." He hauled the bags and the sleeping bag into the car, knocked down the tent and tossed it into the canvas bag, hurling it into the backseat.

Olivia and Elliot hopped into the front. Olivia started the car, and pulled out of the Davenport park, hitting the gas hard. "Liv," Elliot said, looking at her, "Please, baby, stay calm, okay? She doesn't know where we went, where we are, and even if she found us, I wouldn't let her touch you."

"I know that," Olivia said, nodding. "I'm not worried about her finding us."

"Then why do you look so worked up?" Elliot asked.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and said, "Because, El, once again my fucking mother ruined sex for us!"

As they pulled out onto the highway, Elliot laughed and said, "Just wait until we get to Chicago."

Olivia smirked and shook her head, hit the button to turn on the radio, and let the night wind blow through her hair as she headed in the direction of Illinois, wondering just what Elliot had planned for Chicago.

**A/N: What happens in Chicago? Where is Serena heading? Why is Frank, the D. A. so adamant about not believing Joe? And when, exactly, will the parents catch up to the kids? To find out, please click that little, lonely-looking, button, and leave a review. Or tell TMG212 on Twitter. ;)**


	8. Chicago, Illinois

**A/N: Conversation, chasing, and Chicago! And where is Serena? Is Joe following her? **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this completely fabricated story.**

Olivia had been talking to Sam, and driving way too fast, for an hour. She couldn't bring herself to look at Elliot. She didn't want to see any of the things she thought she'd see on his face. She didn't want to see the hurt, the pity, the sympathy, the disgust, so she kept her eyes on the road as she spoke into the air, having the phone on speaker picking up every word.

"A year later, she got very overprotective. Ya know, like the witch in Rapunzel? She kept me home on weekends, forbid me to go out, locked me in my room whenever she went out. She, uh, caught me sneaking out once. It was a friend's birthday, and I promised that I would be there. I climbed out the window, dropped to the ground below, and was halfway to my, uh, friend's house when she drove by and saw me. She was so angry, she grabbed me, threw me in the car, got me home, and before we were even through the door, she had her hands around my throat, squeezing. I don't remember anything after that, I passed out."

"Jesus Christ," Elliot mumbled under his breath. Olivia looked at him, and was stunned. The only thing she saw in his eyes was love.

"Go on," Sam called through the phone. "You need to tell me everything, Livia," he said calmly.

Olivia cleared her throat and changed lanes. "I woke up in the hospital," she said. "My mother panicked when I hit the floor. I had stopped breathing and she called 911. She cried and she told the doctors that I was trying to stop a burglar. My friend showed up that night, and I tried to apologize for missing his birthday. Can you believe that? My mother almost killed me and I was the one feeling guilty. That was the first time I broke a promise I'd made to him," she said, sadly, looking at Elliot apologetically. "He told me it didn't matter."

"It didn't," Elliot said as he squeezed her hand. As he had promised, he'd been holding it the whole time.

Sam let out a sigh. "Sweetie, if this is getting too hard…"

"If I stop now, I'm gonna hang up and not call you back," Olivia interrupted.

"Okay, you've given me plenty. So why don't we jump to the night you left?" Sam said, sensing the tension and the fear through the phone.

Olivia sighed as she stopped at a red light. "Okay," she said. "I told her that I decided where I wanted to go, ya know? I got all the acceptance letters, and I told her I picked. I told her I wanted to go away to school, to NYU. She flipped out on me, told me that it was dangerous enough in Avery and no daughter of hers was moving across the country to a city she considered hell." She scoffed and said, "She didn't realize I was already in hell, and anything, no matter how dangerous, was an improvement."

"What did she do, Livia?" Sam asked.

Olivia took another breath as the light turned green. "She downed a half a bottle of vodka for one thing, then started throwing all of my things out the window. She drank some more and told me if I wanted to go, then I should just go. I smirked and grabbed my keys, figuring she was pissed enough to let me leave and too drunk to stop me, but she caught up to me in the hall. I guess she changed her mind. She grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out of the elevator. She saw the doors closing and she laughed, pushed me back inside, but held onto my hand, making sure the door would crush my arm. I pushed the button before it could do anything more than fracture it, but she still did what she wanted to do."

"Is that it?" Sam asked.

"I wish," Olivia replied. "She accused me of only trying to leave so I could be with…someone who was supposed to be out of my life, according to her. She called me a slut, told me how cheap I was to just give myself to the first guy who paid any attention to me. She told me she wasn't letting me leave because I'd never make it without her, because she was the only one who'd ever put up with me, and I needed her. Then she told me that this guy, who, by the way, was not even part of this equation until later, was probably just using me. She told me that he never really loved me, he couldn't. She told me it was impossible to love me, and that I was worthless, and then she hit me over the head with her empty bottle. I lost it. I hit her, and she hit me, and we were going at it for a few minutes, finally I kicked her, hard, and she flew into the wall and hit her head. I ran. As soon as she hit the floor, I ran."

"To Elliot," Sam said, sounding sure.

"To the store, Sam," Olivia said. "I ran to the fucking store, okay? I didn't have any intention of ripping him away from his life! He came with me...begged me to take him with me, because I sure as hell wasn't going to! I didn't even know he was working that night, so don't you start in on me about it, too!"

"Calm down," Elliot said, looking at her, shocked. "Baby, calm down, breathe, he didn't mean it like that…"

"I know," Olivia said, squeezing her eyes shut. "I just…I'm sorry," she said.

"Okay," Sam said, hesitantly, "Elliot, why did you wanna go with her?"

Elliot blinked and looked down at the cell phone harshly. "What does any of this have to do with me?"

"Hey, kid, I'm just trying to understand," Sam said, sympathetically. "maybe I can relay it to your dad that..."

"Do not tell my father," Elliot warned. Then he sighed. "You want the truth, or do you want the explanation everyone in that fucking town's expecting?"

"How about both," Sam suggested.

"The truth is, I needed to get out of Avery as much as she did. Then I saw her, broken and bruised and I…God, Sam, you know how I feel about her, so I figured this would be our chance. If we both left, I'd get her away from her mother, I'd get myself away from my father, and we could be together. I saw an opportunity to get her back, and save my own ass at the same time."

"And what do you think is the story Avery wants to hear?" Sam said, a bit stunned at what Elliot had just told him. "Because that's pretty much what everyone is assuming already. You two don't have the kinds of secrets you think you do."

"What?" Elliot gasped. "Sam, you can't tell me that people know that my dad is…"

"Not everyone," Sam cut him off. "Just anyone who really, really knows him. Thank you for calling, Livia. I know this was hard for you. Joe's gonna find your mother, and you two are gonna be fine. I promise."

Olivia shook her head, disbelieving, and said, "Yeah, thanks, Sam."

"Bye," Elliot said, clicking off the phone. "Okay, that was not pleasant to hear, I'm not gonna lie."

"Really?" Olivia asked, sarcastically. "Try living it," she said, wiping her eyes. "You don't think he could tell I was crying, do you?"

"No," Elliot said, shaking his head. "You couldn't hear it in your voice. Can you pull over for a second?"

Olivia, not in the mood for any more questions, pulled off to the side of the road and put her flashers on. "What, El?" she asked, sending a small glance at him.

Elliot held her gaze for a moment before pulling her into his arms. "There's so much I wish you would have told me sooner," he said, kissing the top of her head. "But I know why you didn't, why you couldn't. I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through, half of it was because of me." He kissed her lips and added, "Because your mother is psychotic. You know nothing was true, right? None of what she said…I do love you. So fucking much, Liv, and I'm not just…"

"Stop talking," Olivia said, pressing her lips to his again. "Please, no more talking."

Elliot nodded, kissed her once more, slowly and deeply, and said, "I love you, baby."

"I love you, too," Olivia said, pecking his lips. She moved back and turned the key, starting the car up again, heading to the heart of Chicago.

* * *

"Look, lady, I haven't seen anyone that looks like that," the waiter at a diner in Salt Lake City told Serena. "Trust me, if I had, I'd remember," he said, licking his lips. "She is fine."

Serena whapped him in the head and glared at him. "That's my daughter!" she yelled, turning and bolting from the building. She got back into her black car and drove off, oblivious to the black sedan pulling into the lane behind her. She pulled out her phone and dialed, and when the man on the other end picked up, she spoke.

"Frank," she said, "Did she come back yet? What about that good for nothing, boneheaded, jock she's been fucking? No, huh? Will you tell me…what? She was lying! Maybe once or twice, but any good parent disciplines their…what? You can't! Oh, you're just like all the rest of them, I'm good for a few lays and then you drop me, that it? Oh, bullshit! You don't care about Olivia, this is an excuse to get out of the relationship, well fine, you want out, you're out!"

She snapped her phone closed, tossed it onto the seat, then reached for the flask she had in the glove compartment. "Little bitch," she spat, unscrewing the cap. She took a swig. "You won't live to see eighteen," she said, "I'm making damn sure of that."

* * *

"Okay, we're here," Olivia said, pulling off the highway, onto the offramp leading into downtown Chicago. "What now?"

"We should find someplace to stay. A park maybe? We never got to finish…camping," Elliot said, keeping his male instincts at bay.

Olivia laughed. "No, we didn't," she said. "Chicago's a city, El, I don't think they have places where we can just pitch a tent and start a fire."

Elliot laughed. "Fine, a motel, or something," he said. "Just get us somewhere we can take a shower, eat, and get some rest."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sir," she quipped. "Hey, El, last night…"

"It's okay, Liv," Elliot said. "I could have just as easily hung up on Sam and hopped back into the sleeping bag with you. You're not the only one who panicked."

Olivia grinned at him. "You always know, don't you?"

"Always," Elliot replied. "I always know what you're thinking." He caught her eyes and said, "Even then I knew you were hiding something, baby, I just didn't know it was…sorry, you don't wanna talk about it anymore."

"I don't," Olivia said, pulling onto a main street in the city. "I'm sorry I never told you about it all, I just…you were the only person who ever treated me like I was really worth something and I didn't wanna wreck that."

"I never told you about my dad," Elliot countered. "I understand," he whispered, brushing her hair back. "Oh, look. Can you get in there?"

Olivia looked over, changed lanes, and turned into the parking lot of the Farnsworth Hotel. "How much money do we have left?" Olivia asked, looking at him.

"Enough," he replied. "Come on," he said, hitting the button to bring the top up and opening his door. As soon as he got his bag out of the back, raindrops began to fall. "Perfect timing. Fucking raining," he mumbled, grabbing Olivia's bag and leading her into the hotel. He checked them in, rolling his eyes when the man said they should have made a reservation, and got the key to the only available room. A corner suite, with a lot of windows and a balcony, though the awning was gone.

Olivia stepped inside the room, looked around, and said, "You can take your shower."

"Yeah," Elliot said, sighing. "In a minute. What are you doing?"

"Hmm?" Olivia questioned. Her attention had been drawn to the window, she was watching the rain, the lightning. She was almost in a trance, tracing the falling drops down the balcony door with her fingertips.

"I said, what are you doing, baby?" Elliot repeated, stepping toward her.

"It's so beautiful," she said. "It's like it's washing away everything that's wrong, everything that's somehow gone bad out there. It's like it's making the city, I don't know, clean again. Pure. Whole."

Elliot half-smiled and rested his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently. "It is, Liv," he said. "That's what rain does," he chuckled. He then watched, confused, as Olivia reached out and slid open the balcony door. She moved forward, stepping out into the windy, wet weather. "Baby?"

"Come here," she said, closing her eyes, letting the rain pour over her.

"You're gonna get sick!" Elliot yelled. "Get back inside."

Olivia, her eyes still closed, smiled. "Just come here, please?"

Elliot sighed and shook his head, shrugging in defeat. He'd jump into a volcano if she asked him to do it. He stepped next to her, instantly getting whipped in the face by the wind and the rain. "What are we doing out here?"

"Letting the rain do the same thing to us," Olivia said, reaching out, instinctively finding his hand. She pulled him toward her, turned to him, and opened her eyes. "Can you feel it?"

Gazing into her eyes, Elliot nodded. "Oh, yeah," he said softly.

Olivia, holding his stare, skimmed her hands up his back and pulled him toward her, by his neck, kissing him. "Everything that's ever gone wrong in my life," she said, with the background music of the storm, "When I'm with you, it all goes away. You're like my own personal thunderstorm."

Elliot brushed her sopping hair back and kissed her again. In seconds, the kiss deepened, grew intense, and they moved. Elliot backed her up, her legs hitting the patio sofa, which was now soaked through. Olivia's hands moved from the back of his neck, down to his almost soaked shirt, and she tugged it upward. Elliot, heavily involved with the kiss, let her guide the fabric off of him, breaking contact for only a moment to get it over his head. He went right back to kissing her, as both sets of hands simultaneously maneuvered zippers and buttons, sliding down drenched jeans and wet underwear, staying just aware enough to get something out of Elliot's pocket before tossing his pants away. Elliot broke the kiss again, pulling Olivia's tee shirt off, then worked her bra away from her skin.

The thunder rolling, the lightning flashing, the wind and rain assaulting their skin, didn't deter them. Elliot eased her down onto the cushioned bench, and with a crack of thunder, he gently fell on top of her. He kissed her wet, glistening skin, and slipped the condom from his hand to hers. He licked and kissed his way down her body as she moaned lightly and opened the packet, feeling his tongue sliding up the only part of her body that wasn't wet with _rain_. He crawled back up and gasped when Olivia took hold of him, slipping the rubber down over him and stroking back up slowly.

The water showered over them as Elliot kissed her, and finally pushed in, slowly, listening to her groan and whine into his mouth. He pulled his lips from hers, and looked into her eyes. "I'm hurting you," he said.

"No, no, God, you're not," Olivia said, biting her lip and throwing her head back. "It's just been a while, El," she reminded him. "I need to…" she paused and grimaced as he slipped further into her. "Don't stop, Elliot," she said, meeting his eyes again.

Elliot moaned and moved, kissing her again, and let his hands grip the sides of her writhing, slick body. "I love you," he told her against her lips.

"Oh, God," Olivia cried, her body taking more time than she'd expected to get used to the invasion of his. "I love you, Elliot," she responded, running her nails hard up his back. With another crash of thunder, she threw her head back and let the water wash away the negativity that had followed them from Avery, let the only thing in the world, for that moment, be him. And what a wonderful world it was.

Olivia finally let go of the years of kept secrets, and he had stayed by her side as she did it. Now they were truly sealing their fate, becoming one for the first time without anyone or anything holding them back. In the morning, they would set out, starting fresh, starting over, together.

**A/N: Loving in the rain? Only in Chicago! =) What's in store for them, in Indiana? And Serena's drinking and driving, with someone behind her. That can't end well. Want more? Click and make it happen! Follow TMG212 on Twitter, too, if ya want. I promise, I Tweet often.**


	9. Fort Wayne, Indiana

**A/N: The morning after, Serena gets in trouble, and What happens in Indiana?**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns Olivia and Elliot, Serena and Joe, and the rest of SVU. TStabler© borrows them, and makes them dance like monkeys. Dance, monkeys! Muahhahaha! Sorry. Sanity's back. **

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked, as Olivia padded through the hotel room, gathering her things.

Olivia nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, giving him a narrow expression.

Elliot shrugged. "You've been kinda quiet since...last night."

"I didn't really have time to talk, El," Olivia said, shaking her head. "We came back inside, dried off, went to sleep. I woke up and you were in the shower. I walked into the bathroom, you pulled me into the shower with you, and we, uh, didn't really do much talking."

"Yeah," Elliot said, smirking. "Our mouths were preoccupied."

"They were," Olivia said with a smirk of her own.

"Are you, though? Okay, I mean." Elliot took two steps closer and reached, tentatively, for her hand.

Olivia grabbed his hand, caressing the side with her thumb. "I'm perfect," she said. She stood on her toes and kissed him, running her other hand down his back.

Elliot pulled away, breathless, and pressed his forehead to hers. "Good," he said, slowly smiling. "Come on, baby, let's go." He finished tossing their things into their duffle bags, grabbed them and headed for the door.

Olivia stopped him with a call of his name. "El?"

"Yeah," he answered, turning to her.

"We have a little time, don't we?" Olivia asked, sitting on the bed, looking at him with a hungry look in her eyes.

Elliot closed the door, dropped the bags, said, "Hell yeah, we do," then leaped toward the bed, kissing her madly and laughing once he landed.

* * *

"How can you not recognize her?" Serena asked, shoving the photo of Olivia into the face of a hotel clerk in Nebraska.

"Lady, I swear, if I saw her, I'd remember," the young man said. "You can't forget a girl like that!"

"Damn it," Serena spat with a hiccup. "Any other cheap motels around here?"

"We're not cheap," the man yelled. "There's a place in Omaha. A few miles up the highway," he told her.

Serena grumbled and walked out, almost making it to the car when a strong, masculine, calloused hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned and gasped, for the first time feeling a bit of the fear her daughter had felt for the last seventeen years.

* * *

"You sure you don't want me to drive?" Olivia asked, clutching onto the door handle as Elliot swerved between lanes and cut off cars.

"Nope," he responded. "I'm good."

"It's not you I'm worried about," Olivia said, through gritted teeth and closed eyes.

"The car will be fine, Liv," Elliot laughed. He turned the volume up on the radio and started singing. His singing was much better than his humming, and all of the practice he was getting ojn this trip made a big difference. Olivia glanced at him and smirked. He was kinda turning her on with his voice alone, and she bit her bottom to keep from telling him that.

"Where are we heading, Jeeves?" Olivia asked, playfully.

"Well, Miss Daisy," Elliot said, putting on a thick, cheesy, Southern accent, "I reckon will be crossin' into Indiana in a few miles. Just down the road apiece."

Olivia reached over and hit him in the arm. "I know that, asshole," she laughed. "Where in Indiana are we stopping? We still haven't finished, uh, camping."

Elliot chuckled. "There's a huge campground by this lake, near Fort Wayne."

"Fort Wayne?" Olivia questioned. "How do you know about..."

"It was an option," Elliot interrupted. "When I was in the Marines, but I didn't wanna go to Bumfuck, Indiana."

Olivia chuckled. "I missed your sense of humor, so much, El," she said, leaning her head back on her seat.

"You'll never have to miss it again," Elliot said. "I promise. Hey, does your throat hurt?"

"No, why?" Olivia questioned, smirking.

Elliot shook his head and asked, "No sniffling, sneezing, itchy eyes?"

"No, El," Olivia said. "Why are you asking?"

Elliot laughed. "Well, me either. We made wild, passionate love, in the freezing, pouring rain, and we didn't get sick. I think you've definitely got secret powers."

"I love you," Olivia told him as she laughed.

"I love you, too, babe," Elliot returned. He reached for her hand, held it in his over the gear shift, and went right back to singing. He smirked when Olivia joined in, feeling quite the same way she did. He got an evil glint in his eye and stepped on the gas, hoping to get to where they were going as fast as possible.

* * *

"Why is there a national search going on for me and not my kid?" Serena spat, sitting in the Omaha Police Department's squadroom.

"Because we have gotten word, with plenty of evidence to back it up, that you're daughter left for her own safety. She's not in trouble, Reena," Joe Stabler said. "You know that you've been driving while intoxicated, too, don't you? That's three days in lockup in the state you were arrested in, a seven-hundred dollar fine, and automatic suspension of your license."

Serena's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! I'm not drunk, Joe! I have to go! I have to find Olivia!" She hiccupped as she rose from her seat and tried to leave, but she was handcuffed to the chair.

"Blow," Joe said, holding out a breathalyzer to her.

Serena backed her head up, away from it, and looked up, begging. "Joe!" she yelled. "Don't do this to me!"

"You did this to yourself, Reena," Joe said, shaking his head. "Blow," he demanded.

Serena let a tear fall, and blew into the tube.

Joe looked at it, shook his head in disgust, and handed the gadget to the Omaha cop next to him. "Your daughter...your own daughter! How the hell could you...oh. Oh, my God." He dropped his eyes, realizing that he was really no better than she was. He was worse actually, since he couldn't blame alcohol. "I have to find my son," he said. "You keep her here until I come back to get her," Joe called to the Omaha chief.

"Yes, Sir," the chief said, glaring at Serena with a look of pure evil in his eyes. "I'll keep her company."

* * *

"Blue Lake," Olivia said, helping Elliot put up the tent this time. "Sounds like the setting for a horror movie."

Elliot laughed as he got the last rod into the ground. "No one's gonna hurt you out here babe," he said. He tossed the sleeping bag into the tent's canvas flap. "Hungry?" he asked, holding up a package of hot dogs he'd taken out of a plastic bag.

"Yeah," Olivia said, sitting on a log near the fire-pit Elliot had created. He lit a fire, put two hot dogs on the ends of long sticks he'd found, and sat behind Olivia, wrapping his arms around her as he shoved the skewered hot dogs into the flames.

They cuddled, talked, kissed, watch the night sky, and ate. When they were finished, Elliot threw dirt on the fire, extinguishing it, and held open the flap of the tent. "After you," he said to Olivia, watching her walk through.

Olivia rolled out the sleeping bag and let out a high-pitched scream. She leaped through the air and wrapped herself around Elliot. "Kill it!" she cried. "Oh, my God, El, just kill it!" She began slapping him and flailing her arms around. "Get rid of it, baby, please!" She looked at it again, and she froze. Her face went white and she began to shake, unable to take her eyes off of the eight-legged creature.

"Liv," Elliot laughed. "Jesus Christ, it's like the world's smallest spider!" He stomped on the creepy crawly and looked at Olivia. She was pale, still shaking. "You're really afraid of them, aren't you?"

Olivia nodded, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing.

"Baby, it's gone," he whsipered to her. He brushed her hair back, smoothing his hands over her body, comforting her. "It's all gone, honey."

Olivia nodded into his chest and sighed, laughing a bit. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know there's no reason to be this scared of a little..."

"I'm afraid of clowns," Elliot said, cutting her off. "They scare the shit out of me. I get all shaky and I can't look at them. Clowns. Red noses, big shoes, the whole bit."

Olivia looked up at him, questioning.

"True story," he said. "Swear to God. I know a phobia when I see one, baby. You have nothing to be sorry about." He pulled her tighter to him and calmed her, making sure she could breathe normally when he let her go.

They changed, playfully and lovingly helping each other out of their clothes, and back into their sleepwear. They crawled into the sleeping bag, and wrapped themselves around each other, softly kissing.

Olivia nuzzled into his neck, kissing and nibbling, and he moaned, instantly changing the mood in the air. She trailed her lips over his chest, listening to him gasp and moan. She laved his rock hard body as his pecs moved, tensed and flexed under her touch.

"Christ, baby," he muttered, skimming his hands over her back.

Olivia kissed her way back up to his lips, and whispered. "I love you," as she peppered his chin and face with kisses. He returned each kiss with fervor, cupping her face and holding her down to him as his tongue swiped her bottom lip, asking her to let him in, and she did, so willingly.

Her hands slipped into his pants, grabbing him, causing him to moan, and she stroked him, slowly but hard. "Holy shit, Liv," he grunted.

"Nothing's in our way tonight, El," Olivia whispered. "No rain, no wind. There's just us."

"Liv," Elliot said, looking up into her eyes, "No matter where we are, or what's going on, there's always, always, just us." He wrapped his arms around her and flipped them over, covering her body with soft kisses as he peeled her clothes off. He reached a hand out to the black duffle bag and fished through the side pocket, looking for something. When he didn't find it, he pulled away from Olivia and grunted a curse.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"We should have, uh, gone to the store or something," Elliot said, dropping his forehead to hers. "I don't have...I wasn't really planning on us, ya know, doing this. I only had the two in my wallet, and one in the bag, that's it."

Olivia exhaled, then looked up at him. "Okay," she said, pushing him up and rolling them over. "There are other ways, El," she said, smirking.

Elliot looked back up at her, chuckled, and said, "That's right, baby, there are." He moved to flip her over again, but she was surprisingly strong. She pushed him back down and slid down his body, and his eyes rolled back into his head as he felt her lips wrap around him. "Fuck," he whispered, harshly. "God, I missed you," he chuckled, running his hands through her hair.

Olivia chuckled, sucking him, and let him go for a moment as she said, "I know you did."

"Not just because, fucking hell, that's amazing," he groaned. "I really missed you, all of you. God damn, baby," he seethed, bucking his hips slightly.

Olivia kept her eyes locked on his as she moved and she swatted his hands away when he tried to stop her.

"Baby, stop," Elliot grunted. "You're not...damn, Liv, move," he whined, trying to control himself.

Olivia shook her head and sucked harder, her eyes burning into his.

With that last look, Elliot lost it. He began shooting off right into Olivia's eager, waiting mouth. He twisted his fingers in her hair and tried to pull her back, but she wasn't moving. She was still sucking on him, swallowing everything he was giving her, and she seemed to enjoy it. That's what really prolonged his pleasure; knowing she loved him enough do what she'd just done, and loved doing it.

Olivia gave him one last lick, then was surprised when Elliot grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up to him, kissing her deeply as he rolled them over. He pulled away and she asked, "What are you doing?"

Elliot smirked, evilly, and said, "Returning the favor." He chuckled as Olivia's eyes narrowed, and he kissed his way down her body, ready to make her feel as amazing as she'd made him feel. He had Olivia writhing and moaning in no time, and his words held true. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, in that tent, in that world, but them and their love. For the moment, there was no Serena, no Joe, and no trouble. That was all waiting for them in Ohio.

**A/N: Where do they stop in Ohio? What trouble? Does Joe catch up to them? What is he going to do when he finds them? Click and let me know you want it! Or let me know on Twitter! TMG212. **


	10. Toledo, Ohio

**A/N: Ohio. Do they get into trouble or get out of it? Forgive the typos. I've gotten a new keyboard, it's ergonomic, I'm not used to it yet. **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story belongs to TStabler© Read it? Love it? Review it!**

"Hey," Elliot said, smiling as he saw Olivia's eyes blink open. "Morning."

Olivia smiled up at him, nodded, and plopped her head on his chest.

Elliot laughed. "You're fucking adorable, you know that?" he whispered as he kissed the crown of her head.

"How long have you been awake?" Olivia asked, yawning as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Almost an hour," Elliot admitted.

"You didn't wake me up?" Olivia questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Elliot shook his head and brushed her hair back, kissing her lips quickly. "Why would I have done that?" he asked, smirking. "You looked so relaxed, so peaceful, so beautiful. I love watching you like that."

Olivia smiled at him, kissed him slowly, then pulled away from him, finally getting up. "We should get going. We need to find a place with, um, indoor plumbing," she joked with a chuckle. "Baby wipes only go so far. I think we're both starting to smell a little less than fresh."

Elliot laughed as he got out of the sleeping bag, strode over to her, and ran his hands gently down her body. "I could get used to that ya know," he said, kissing her.

"What?" Olivia wondered out loud.

"Sleeping with you, naked," Elliot said, wagging his eyebrows.

Olivia chuckled and threw a clean shirt into his chest. "Well, you can't drive naked, can you?

"Yes," Elliot said, matter-of-factly. "But you have leather seats and you told me once that you didn't want my naked, sweaty ass touching your leather seats," he reminded her with a smirk. "And it's illegal."

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed, pulling her clothes on. She sent him a glance and smirked, knowing that today was gonna be a very good day.

* * *

"Will you let me out of here?" Serena Benson yelled, sober. "I don't even know why I'm in here, or where the hell I am, all I know is that piss-ant football player took my little girl!"

The officer laughed. "You don't know what you're talking about, lady. You're in jail, in Omaha, for drinking and driving. Sergeant Stabler said not to do anything with you until he got back, but that could take a while," he said with a smirk. "Sit down, shut up, get comfortable," he told her.

Serena growled, "My daughter has been kidnapped, you asshole! You need to let me..." she was cut off when the officer threw a stapled pack of paper at her.

"She left on her own," the man said, harshly. "She needed to get away from you, lady. When was the last time you were sober enough to know what you were doing to her?"

Serena read the writing, her jaw dropped, and tears filled her eyes. "I wouldn't do this to her, I couldn't have done any of this to her!"

"Not sober," the man scoffed.

Serena gasped. "Oh, my God," she whispered. She realized, probably for the first time, that she had become the type of monster of which she had always been afraid.

* * *

"Have I told you how much I love this car?" Elliot asked, laughing as the wind ran over him.

"You have," Olivia laughed. "Often."

"Well, it's true," Elliot said. "It's a classic, it's fast, it's in mint condition, and..."

"It matches your eyes," Olivia said. "I know."

Elliot shook his head. "I was gonna say, it brought us back together."

Olivia smirked. "Technically, it was my desperate need for medical attention," she chuckled. "If I didn't stop at that store, El, I would have left without you. You would have never seen me again."

"I would have found you," Elliot said, nodding. "I wouldn't have stopped looking until I found you. You have to believe that."

Olivia looked up at him. "You're serious."

"Deadly," Elliot said. "You've been the most important person in my life, Liv, for so long. The second I realized you were gone, I wouldn't have stopped until I found you. I think, maybe, it was fate. Or, and I know you're gonna dispute me on this one, but it could have been God, ya know? Bringing us together like this," he said.

Olivia looked at him, saw the look on his face, and said, "I'm not gonna dispute anything."

Elliot gave her a surprised look.

"I think you're right," Olivia said. "Something made me go into that store, something made you have work that night, something made you convince me to let you come with me, and something made me let you do it," she told him. "I may not think it was God, but I do think it was fate, El."

Elliot reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips. He kissed her hand twice, and smiled as he looked out over the open road. "Ohio," he said with a nod. "Getting closer," he told her.

Olivia shook her head and sighed, leaning her head back against the seat. "No, baby," she said, "We're getting farther away."

"That, too," Elliot said with a chuckle.

Olivia took a breath and asked, "how are we doing on money?"

"Liv, baby, please stop asking that," Elliot pleaded. "Why are you so concerned with that? I told you I had it covered."

Olivia shrugged. "I think we've spent more money in the past week than my mother spent in the last five years. I'm not used to having enough anything, I mean, it took me three years to save up to buy this car. I had to constantly beg the dealer not to sell it until I had my license and the cash! I'm not used to...spending money. Or evenhaving it to spend."

Elliot nodded. "I get that, baby, but both of us emptied out accounts before we left, and I've been saving for, God, like, five years. We have money."

Olivia sighed and nodded. "Okay," she said. "This thing fucking itches," she said, changing the subject, trying to scratch at the flesh inside her cast.

Elliot laughed. "Four more weeks, honey," he said. "Then we'll get it taken off and you can move your wrist."

Olivia chuckled. "Drive," she said, rolling her eyes.

"You got it," Elliot said, stepping on the gas. "Next stop, Toledo, and a hotel room with a shower!"

"Thank God," Olivia sighed.

Elliot chuckled, shaking his head. He changed lanes, turned up the radio with Olivia's fingers still entwined with his, and turned his head toward her. "Shades?"

Olivia laughed, opened her glove compartment, and pulled out his sunglasses, sliding them onto his face.

"Thanks, babe," Elliot said with a cocky grin, driving toward their next destination.

* * *

"Okay," Joe Stabler said to the man on the other end of his phone. "It's a Cerulean Blue Sixty-Three Ford Falcon convertible," he said. "Have every interstate patrolman looking for it, and call me immediately when it's been spotted. My son and...uh, daughter-in-law. No, I'm not. I just...need to make sure they're okay. I have to talk to them. Thanks."

He put his phone back in his pocket and stepped on the gas, driving fast with the siren on and the lights flashing, hoping he was heading in the right direction.

* * *

"I feel so much better now," Olivia said, as Elliot rubbed her head and hair with a towel.

"So do I," Elliot said, his voice low and gravelly, kissing the still-damp back of her neck. "So glad we stopped for gas and I remembered to buy a box of..."

"El!" Olivia laughed, slapping his leg.

"What?" Elliot chuckled. "What happened in there, Liv, that was a fucking fantasy come true. Making love to you in the shower, honey, was something I've had very vivid dreams about."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I admit, I've had that same dream, but I was in the middle of washing my hair when you decided to join me and shove me up against the tiles."

"I rinsed you off beforehand," Elliot said, raising his finger, as if making a point.

Olivia laughed. "Yeah, you did," she said nodding, moving in to kiss him.

Elliot kissed her back, willingly, and pulled her robed body against his. "I love you," he whispered. He tossed the towel over his head onto the chair behind him and turned to grab his bag. He pulled out a clean pair of boxers, pulled them on, then took off his robe. He took a pair of pajamas out of her bag, but Olivia stopped him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You said you could get used to sleeping naked with me," Olivia said, smirking. She untied the robe, shrugged it off, and backed up toward the bed. Naked, she pulled the blankets down and crawled in, chuckling as she watched Elliot slide down his only-on-for-a-minute shorts.

He ran, nude, to the other side of the bed and crawled in, pulling her closer, wrapping them together. "I could," he said, nodding. "I think I have."

Olivia chuckled as she sighed into his body. "Good," she said, smiling, dropping a kiss to his hard stomach. "Goodnight, baby," she whispered.

"Night, love," Elliot said back to her, kissing her head and turning out the light. They slept, soundly, peacefully, unaware that someone was only one state away, getting a phone call alerting him to the location of a blue Ford Falcon.

**A/N: Does Joe catch up to them? What does he really do? Say? And what does her realization make Serena do? Where do they stop in Pennsylvania? Review! Tweet TMG212 on Twitter. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Kylertown, Pennsylvania

**A/N: Does Joe catch up to them? What does he really do? Say? And what does her realization make Serena do? Where do they stop in Pennsylvania?**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story belongs to TStabler© Read it? Love it? Review it!**

"I know it's still dark," Elliot said, "But Pennsylvania's a big state. I wanna make frequent stops, see things. This si the last state. We're almost there, Liv."

Olivia yawned and tossed him the keys, then proceeded to move all of the bags from the backseat to the trunk. "You drive, I'm going back to sleep."

"Before you go back to sleep," Elliot said with a chuckle, "Can I ask you something?"

Olivia climbed into the backseat and said, "You just did, but go ahead."

Elliot got into the front and turned the key. "That tattoo on your hip. That bird. When did you get it? It wasn't there before, you know, the last time we..."

"The day I bought the car," Olivia said, yawning again. "The day I swore I would get away."

Elliot sighed and smirked. "Phoenix," he said, realizing. "Rising from the ashes. It's you, baby."

"You, too," Olivia said, her eyes drifting shut.

Elliot looked at her through the rearview mirror and smiled. He loved her more than he thought possible, and as soon as they stopped, he'd prove it.

* * *

"They're definitely heading in this direction, Sam," Joe Stabler called over his radio to his partner in Avery. "I need you to send someone out to pick up Reena, I left her...she needed to sober up and I needed to get her off of Olivia's...she what? when? How long ago? Terrific! Thanks, Sam! You should have called me! I have to stop her, now, too." He clipped the radio to the dashboard. He put his foot on the gas and headed down the highway, passing the large "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign on his right, picking up his coffee. He'd been driving for forty-eight straight hours. He was determined to catch up to them, and it needed to happen fast.

* * *

Elliot pulled over just as the sun started to peak over the horizon. He smirked as he turned his head over his shoulder and looked at Olivia's sleeping form. He hit the button on the dashboard, bringing the top up and over them, and he ducked his head as he climbed in the backseat with her. "Hey," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss to her shoulder. "Baby, wake up."

Olivia moaned, rolling her head. "El," she whispered. "Honey?"

"Me," Elliot whispered, sliding her tank top's strap down, with one hand, sliding his other hand up under the fabric, caressing her toned stomach.

"What..." Olivia tried to speak, but the combination of groggy and horny took away the ability to be coherent. All she could do was moan.

Elliot kissed over her neck and across her collarbone, chuckling. "Breaking your 'no bare-sweaty-ass-on-the-leather' rule," he said, lifting the shirt. He was pleasantly surprised when she sat up and let him take it off of her. He threw it to the floor of the car and smirked at her, reaching for the zipper of her jeans. "I love you," he said, kissing the tops of her breasts.

Olivia clutched at the hem of tee-shirt and pulled, tugging it over his head, making it join her tank. "Leather can be cleaned," she said, attaching his lips to his as she unbuttoned his fly and got him out of his jeans, reaching into the pocket before they were thrown to the growing pile on the mat below.

Elliot kicked off his shoes, then slid down her body, kissing as he went, to slide down her panties, then took off her shoes, and socks. "It can," he said, nodding, as he took the square packet out of Olivia's hands. She stopped him from opening it and looked into his eyes for a moment. Then she looked him over, up and down, examining his body. The space was tight, and close, but she was trying to see him. Really see him. All of him.

"What are you doing, baby?" Elliot asked her, dropping his head to kiss her. He accidentally rubbed against her and gasped, trying to control the urge to forget the condom and push into her.

Olivia bucked her hips, wanting the same thing, but not wanting the consequences. "Just looking," she said. "I don't think I've ever just...looked."

Elliot looked down at her, shifted his weight, trying not to move into her. "Look later, honey," he whispered. "I don't want to hurt you, we're pretty cramped back here."

Olivia chuckled, finally helping roll on his condom. They both moaned as he slid gently into her, lifting one of her legs and tilting her a bit, trying to keep them both on the seat. "Oh, God, El," she breathed, her head bending backward into the seat.

"Liv," Elliot moaned, thrusting deeply, holding her hips as his head dropped to the crook of her neck. He brushed his lips over the cream-colored skin he found there, licking and nibbling as he moved toward her ear. "Shit, Liv, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too, El," Olivia said, her nails digging into his back. "Harder," she groaned.

Elliot shot her a look. He smirked and moved faster, harder, holding her tighter. "Holy..." he trailed off and pressed his lips together, , moving within her, feeling incredible and hoping he was making her feel just as incredible.

Olivia's mouth dropped open and she let out a soft cry of his name. "Elliot," she moaned, trying to wrap her other leg around his hip. "Oh, hell, we're going straight to hell," she mumbled, her back arching.

"You don't believe in hell," Elliot grunting, moving harder, slipping off the leather, but catching himself and bending them at an angle to stay on the seat. They both cried out, feeling incredible at the shift in position and the fact it allowed Elliot to get even deeper. "God damn, Liv!" he grunted.

"You do," Olivia seethed, reaching up to grab his head. "You're not going anywhere without me," she whispered to him. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him passionately as she clenched around him, moaning into the kiss.

Elliot gave a shaky, stuttering groan against her lips, attempting to hold in his release until he was sure she was cumming. He felt her grip him tight and felt her start to shake. Then then, and only then, did he let go. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, watching as her pupils dilated. He grunted as he let go, and he watched her face contort into the twisted expressions of pure pleasure as she cried his name.

* * *

Serena sat in the rented car, sipping her coffee, watching the other side of the road. "What the hell did you pull over for?" she asked, squinting against the sunlight. The sun had been up for an hour and a half already, and she had watched them pull over just as it began to rise. "That's the right car," she said with a hiccup. "I'm sure it is."

She watched as the top rolled down and saw them laughing, smiling. She saw him take her hand, she saw him lean over and kiss her, and she saw the car slowly move. "Finally," she said. She turned her own key, easing back onto the highway. She swerved into their lane, staying a few cars behind them, and sipped her coffee again. She hiccupped as she veered into the left lane a bit, almost sideswiping the car next to her. "Damn," she said. Maybe it wasn't coffee she was drinking after all.

Serena looked behind her and gasped, her eyes widening. "Shit," she spat. "How the hell did he get here?" Joe Stabler was three cars behind her and closing in, weaving between lanes, and soon, he passed her up. She furrowed her brow. He wasn't after her. Then she grew even more confused as she watched Joe bypass Olivia's car. What the hell was going on?

* * *

"What brought that on?" Olivia asked, giving Elliot's hand a squeeze.

Elliot shrugged. "When I want you, I want you," he said. "I wanted you."

"I have rules about my car, El," Olivia said, raising an eyebrow.

"Correction," Elliot said, raising her hand to his lips. He kissed her knuckles. "Had rules. They no longer exist. See, I was the only guy you ever broke your personal rules for, right? Just proved I still am, didn't I?"

"Cocky son of a bitch," Olivia mumbled, shaking her head with a chuckle.

"Yeah, proved that, too," Elliot said, smirking and nodding.

Olivia laughed as he changed lanes. "Your ego is almost as big as..."

"Hey," Elliot said, stopping her. "Liv, do not even go there," he laughed. He picked up their still joined hands and hit the radio button, blasting the station they'd been singing along with for the journey. He looked at Olivia, and as he heard the notes he started to sing. He drove and sang, looking at her when he could. He was serenading her.

As they drove, and as the songs changed, they sang together, and to each other, and had a blast as they messed up lyrics and corrected each other. Olivia told Elliot that Paula Abdul was not saying that "He can play baboons." She laughed and said, "It's 'He don't play by rules, El."

Elliot had to practically translate an entire Springsteen song for her. "He mumbles," was her excuse. He chuckled as he sang to her, and made the most adoring face at her.

Olivia smiled at him, sighing contentedly. "I love you," she said. "I know it seems like I'm saying that a lot now, but..."

"You're not," Elliot interrupted, stopping his song to speak. "You could say it every five minutes, hell, every five seconds. It could be the only thing you say to me, over and over, for an hour, and it would never be enough. I love hearing you say it. I love knowing...knowing you really mean it."

"You know I mean it," Olivia said. "Every time I say it, I mean it even more, El. I keep falling, harder and faster, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Not that I want it to stop."

"Oh, please," Elliot said, sighing with wide eyes. "Don't even say that. You know I feel the same way, right? This trip...Liv, anyone else would have driven me up a fucking wall. Anyone else, alone in a car, driving across the country, would have pissed me off. Royally." He smirked at her. "You just drive me completely crazy, in a good way, baby. I can't get enough of you. I could talk to you for hours, or could just sit here in silence, knowing you're there is enough."

Olivia gave him a soft look, then looked around. "Turn off here," she said, pointing to the next exit.

"What?" Elliot asked, baffled. "Honey, we don't need gas or..."

"Do it," Olivia insisted. "I'm not about to crawl back into the backseat. Find a fucking motel Elliot," she said.

Elliot raised an eyebrow and smirked, getting into the right lane. "Yes, ma'am," he said, chuckling with an evil tone in his voice. "Where do you wanna stop?" he asked.

"First one you see," Olivia said. "Like you said, when I want you, I want you. And right now, I want you."

Elliot looked back toward the road and slammed on his brakes, stopping an inch before hitting the car in front of him. "Shit," he said, backing up.

"Don't," Olivia said, looking behind them. "You'll hit him. He's standing behind the car, El!"

"Fuck," Elliot said, hitting the steering wheel. "How the hell did he find us?"

Olivia shook her head and reached an arm up around his neck. "I don't know," she said. "But we're gonna be okay. We have to be okay."

"How the fuck do you know?" Elliot snapped, not meaning to. "Baby," he sighed, looking at her, as his father strolled toward his side of the car.

"Shh," Olivia whispered. "I know, because we're together. And..." she paused, waiting until Joe was right next to Elliot's door. "He's not behind us anymore. Go!"

Elliot's eyes widened. He looked from her to his father. Before Joe could tell them to wait, Elliot stepped on the gas, in reverse, and made a K-turn to get back on the interstate.

"Shit," Joe spat, jumping back into his car. He sped after them, hoping he could get to them, before Serena.

**A/N: Will Joe get to them? Will they hear him out? A phone call from Sam might change everything. Another stop in Pennsylvania, coming at ya. Reviews are awesome, please and thank you. Here, or on Twitter. Follow TMG212. **


	12. Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania

**A/N: Does Joe finally get them to stop? What do they talk about? And what happens when Serena finally finds them?**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story belongs to TStabler© Read it? Love it? Review it!**

They'd been driving, fast and reckless, for four hours. They were close to Phillipsburg now, and they were tired, scared, and hungry. "El, maybe we should stop," Olivia suggested. "We could turn off fast, he'd never even see..."

"No, baby. I did not drive across the fucking country just to have him catch me when I'm half a state away from New York," Elliot yelled. "Shit! Is he still back there?"

Olivia turned her head watching Joe's car following several cars behind. For the first time, she was grateful for traffic. "Yeah, he is. How did he even know?" she asked.

Elliot scoffed. "One thing about good cops," he said. "They tell their fucking partners everything." He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Olivia. "Call Sam. Find out why the fuck he told my father where we were."

Olivia took the phone and found Sam's number, then activated the call. "Sam? It's...yeah, don't call me that. Why did you tell Elliot's fath...oh. Oh, my God." She turned to Elliot and said, "El, pull over."

"What? Are you crazy?" Elliot asked, shocked.

"He doesn't...he's not angry, he wants to talk," Olivia said. "Besides, if we keep driving, we'll drive straight into my mother."

Elliot let the words hit his ears and without even using his blinker, he swerved to the shoulder and screeched to a stop.

"Watch my fucking car!" Olivia yelled.

Elliot looked at her with a raised eyebrow and took the phone out of her hands. "Sam, call my dad, tell him we're on the shoulder by the exit for route seventy-eight. Yeah, because I'm not talking to him. No. Sam, I don't care if...I've called my mother. She keeps reminding me to 'sparkle,' okay? I don't want to go...whatever. I only pulled over because he is the lesser of two evils. I'm not putting Liv in danger. Not again. She's taken enough shit because of me."

Olivia shot him a glance as he spoke, and she reached out to take the hand that wasn't holding the phone to his ear. "El, nothing was your..."

Elliot held a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. "Yeah, thanks, Sam." He hung up the phone and pulled Olivia toward him. "You had to take so much, just for even talking to me, and I know it's not my fault, but I feel so damn guilty."

Olivia, afraid to speak, not trusting her voice, simply kissed him, pulling away when she heard the slowing of tires pulling up behind them. Joe's car.

* * *

Serena Benson, a few miles ahead of them now, was stopped in traffic, watching in the rearview mirror, hoping to see them. When the traffic began to move, she didn't, wanting to wait for them. Cars honked, people passed her angrily, some even gave her the finger. Drunk and unstable, she did the unthinkable. She barreled through three lanes of traffic, through an opening in the divider on the interstate, and made a very illegal u-turn. She was determined to find her daughter.

She noticed the blue convertible pulled over onto the shoulder, with Joe's sedan behind it, and as she passed it, planning to make another turn, she saw both cars pulling back onto the road. She kept a watchful eye in the rearview mirror, watching where they were going, and saw them both turn off the exit. She smirked and stepped on the gas, hoping there'd be a place to turn soon.

* * *

Joe had convinced Elliot and Olivia to pull off of the highway and stop at a small diner. He was staring into his coffee, listening to the silence. "Guys, come on," he finally said. "I'm not angry, I'm not here to take you back, I'm not here to...I'm actually here to apologize."

"Eighteen years too late," Elliot mumbled under his breath, one hand squeezing Olivia's knee under the table, the other turning his glass of soda around on the table.

"Elliot," Joe sighed, "I know that. I did everything wrong, because you were the son that could take it. You wouldn't break, or break down, so I took everything out on you, and I'm sorry. When Reena came into the squadroom looking for..."

Olivia's hand shot to Elliot's, on her knee, and they linked, squeezing. "She what?"

"She was pissed off, kept demanding we look for you, but she was drunk. She was violent. She...we got her to admit that she...why didn't you tell anyone, Olivia?"

"I didn't think..." Olivia trailed off, shrugging. "It's a small town. You all fucking knew, anyway. You did nothing. Did I really need to say it, to ask, to get someone's help?"

Elliot squeezed her hand harder and looked at her.

"Well, most of you did nothing," Olivia grumbled.

"I promise," Joe said, "She will never hurt you again."

Olivia scoffed. "Because I'm never gonna see her again," she said. "That's why we..."

Joe kept glancing at the door, then he looking at Elliot. "I know why you did this," he said. "And I'm so..."

"Disappointed, appalled, pissed off," Elliot listed moving his thumb, caressing Olivia's leg.

"Proud of you," Joe said, sincerely. "You did what I never could, Elliot. You found away to save the woman you love."

Elliot looked at his father. "Liv and Mom are completely...how can you even compare..."

"I could have gotten her help sooner, but instead I chose to ignore...not believe that there was something wrong," Joe said, sipping his coffee. "Every time she got under my skin, or I started to worry, I would just turn on you. I'm sorry for that, but I need you to know how proud I am that you found someone...and you gave up everything you knew, everything you had, to make sure she wasn't going to..."

"Dad," Elliot interrupted, "You're making it sound like I fucking rode her out of Avery on a white horse! You know, she was leaving anyway? I went with her. I wanted to be with her, I wanted out, and I wanted to get the hell away from you! Yeah, the reason behind it was that I knew eventually Serena would come looking, and I couldn't let her..." he paused, trying to find the words. "Dad, you know what Liv is to me. You've known for years. I don't do well without her. I never have, I never will. She was leaving, and if I didn't leave with her I would have run after her. If I had found her, but had been too late..."

Joe smirked. "I know that," he said. "And knowing you did something for her and yourself, and you've made it, that makes me prouder than you could possibly imagine."

Olivia's anger and resentment started to boil over. "Wait," she said. "He didn't make you proud when he took care of his brothers and sisters on the days your wife thought the world needed more of her light and energy, so she fucking took off? You weren't proud of him when he joined the goddamned Marines, at your behest, even though he was grossly underage? You weren't proud of him when he came home in one piece and worked his ass off, just so he could catch up and graduate with his class? You weren't proud of him for never, not once, hitting you back?"

"Olivia," Joe said, looking at her, "Please, you have to understand..."

"I understand," Olivia spat. "I understand that your priorities have always been fucked up, just like my mother's. At least she had a goddamned excuse!"

That's when Joe got angry. "She did not!" he yelled. He looked around, suddenly noticing some staring eyes from other diners. "Olivia," he said, softer. "What happened to your mother was tragic, that's true. How she dealt with it was a choice, not an excuse. She could have just as easily chosen to love you, and raise you right. She could have chosen to give you away, or not have you at all. She made a choice, Olivia. And you did not deserve to be treated like that, and don't you dare, for a single moment, believe that you did." He pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to her. "When you get to Manhattan, give this man a call. He will make sure that your mother stays away from you, even there."

Elliot's eyes widened. "Are you...are you serious? Are you actually telling us that you..."

"Yes," Joe said, nodding. "Elliot, I know you. And I know that...in most cases this would probably be the first of many relationships, but it's the only one you two have got. You're gonna be living together when you get to New York, aren't you? Enroll in the same classes? I'm assuming you two have no intention of even dating other people in college."

Olivia looked at Elliot, who looked back at her with a smirk. He turned to his father and said, "Dating other people in high school made me sick to my stomach and almost ruined my life."

"I don't play well with others," Olivia quipped with a smirk that matched Elliot's.

Joe chuckled. "Call him," he said. "He'll take good care of the both of you, since I won't be able to. Oh, and I wanted to give you this." He handed Elliot an envelope.

Elliot opened it and his eyes widened. "What the hell is this?"

"It's the paperwork and checkbook for your college fund," Joe said. "With your scholarship, you might not need it...I guess it'll help you survive, but you took off before your mother and I could talk to you about it."

"Dad," Elliot said, reading through the papers, "This is..."

"For school," Joe said, pointing. "It's not a lot. You have a lot of brothers and sisters, and we have to put you all through school, so...this was all we could do."

Elliot slid it all back to him and said, "I got a full scholarship, partly from the Marines, and partly academic, so I don't need this."

"Elliot," Joe said, stunned, "You can take..."

"I love you for it," Elliot said, looking into his father's eyes. "But you can divide this up amongst the others. They need it more than I do."

Joe took the envelope and shook his head. "You are one amazing kid," he said, smiling.

"I wish I could say it was because I had amazing parents," Elliot shrugged, "But, uh, I kinda did all of this on my own, and with Liv."

Joe nodded, fighting back tears. "Yeah, you two, uh, you're good for each other. Call me when you get there, do not let each other out of your sight, and if you need to..."

"We won't," Elliot interrupted. "We won't need to come home, but thank you for letting me know that we'd be welcome."

The three of them rose out of the booth, and Elliot and his father shared their first hug in years. They left money for their drinks and a tip on the table and headed for the door, pushing through it and heading for their cars. When they got closer to Olivia's convertible, they noticed a shadowy figure leaning against the hood.

"Hey," Olivia yelled, "Get off of my car!" She gasped, when she took a step closer and realized who it was.

"Shit," Elliot spat as he yanked roughly on Olivia, pulling her behind him.

Joe did the same to Elliot, pushing himself to the front, keeping his son and Olivia behind him. "Reena," he said, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Serena shrugged and got off of the car, taking a step forward. "Came to see my daughter," she said. "We have something to talk about."

**A/N: What does Serena say? Does Joe even let her say anything? What does Elliot do, then? And who's number did Joe give them? Wanna know? Tell me here or on Twitter! TMG212 **


	13. Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania Pt 2

**A/N: What does Serena say? Does Joe even let her say anything? What does Elliot do, then? And who's number did Joe give them?**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story belongs to TStabler© Read it? Love it? Review it!**

"She has nothing to say to you," Elliot spat, stepping in front of Olivia, pushing his father away. He was territorial when it came to Olivia. She was his to protect, not his father's.

"I have a lot to say to her," Serena shouted, stumbling forward. She tripped and landed in Joe's arms, but kept her eyes set on Olivia's. "Goddamned, ungrateful, spoiled, rotten little bitch," she cursed. "How dare you just take off to parts unknown with this…that…bastard?"

Joe held Serena tightly, keeping her from getting to Olivia. "Reena," he said, "Calm down. Stay still, dammit."

Olivia, though she wasn't consciously scared, was gripping Elliot's arms so hard her knuckles were turning white. "Baby," Elliot whispered to her, "It's okay, she's not gonna hurt you."

"What the hell do you want?" Olivia finally asked, still behind Elliot, because he was fighting her attempts to move.

Serena laughed. "You are in a shitload of trouble," she said. "You're only seventeen. You're my daughter, and until you turn eighteen, you have to listen to me," she said. "Get in the car, we're going home."

"She's not going anywhere with you," Elliot said, soudning forceful, the Marine training shining through.

"Oh, yes," Serena said, with a few hiccups, "She is!"

Joe smirked, glancing at Elliot. "Reena," he said, smugly, "Did you drive here?"

"No, Joe," Serena said with an eye-roll. "I walked. What do you think?"

"Well," Joe began, "You smell like a bottle of vodka. You're drunk. I'm not letting you back in the car." He yanked on her hand, and that's when he felt something cold in her palm. "Reena?" he questioned, raising an eybrow.

Serena laughed. "Fine," she said, still chuckling. "You won't let me take care of her at home, then I'll just take care of her here." Without warning, and before anyone could do anything, Serena's right hand shot up, pointing straight at Elliot.

Olivia moved fast, knowing both her mother and her boyfriend, and making a choice. She threw Elliot out of the way as hard as she could and when the shot rang out, he was no where near the bullet.

* * *

"Elliot," Joe said to his son, who hadn't moved in over three hours. "Elliot, come on. Get out of the chair."

"No," Elliot said. "I'm not moving until she does." He didn't even turn to look at his father. "Serena. Where is she?"

"Christ, Elliot," Joe said, running a hand down his face. "She's in a holding cell. She looks like shit thanks to you. Two black eyes, a fat lip. You are fucking lucky the ambulance was right there! I should bust your ass for assault."

"So do it," Elliot said through gritted teeth. "Try it, Dad. Try to get me out of this chair. See what happens."

Joe, sighed and pulled the chair next to Elliot's further up next to him. "Look, kid, she's gonna be fine. Doctor said the bullet didn't hit anything major, since Serena was too drunk to aim straight. It's the knock on the head she took when she fell that's got her conked out, and even that isn't that serious."

"Might not be," Elliot said, still staring at a patch of carpet on the floor. "Doctor Stourt said it might not be serious. We won't know until she wakes up and I am not leaving until she does. I wanna be the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes."

"Which won't happen for a while," Joe said. "Elliot, let me take you to a hotel and…"

"Fuck no," Elliot seethed. "I told you, countelss times, I'm staying right here."

"Making yourself crazy and sick isn't gonna get her to wake up any faster," Joe argued. "Elliot. God, you are one stubborn son of a bitch. I think she's rubbing off on you."

"No," Elliot said. "This is one thing I actually get from you." He finally glanced up at his father and said, severe sadness in his eyes, "I'm not sorry I hit her mother. I am sorry that you pulled me off of her before I could kill her, though. Do what you have to do, arrest me, whatever, but I'm still staying right here. I can't leave her." He let his eyes move from his father to the floor, then to Olivia, lying in the bed.

Joe looked at his son and sand said, "I'm not gonna arrest you, kid. Serena deserved it. I…I'll be out in the waiting room if you need me. That number I gave you? Call him. He can help you get an apartment with great security." He slapped a hand onto Elliot's shoulder, his way of saying he loved him, then shot Olivia a harrowed glance and walked out of the room.

"He's gone," Elliot said, smirking.

Olivia groaned and rolled her head. "Thank God," she mumbled. "I have the world's worst fucking headache, and he talks way too much." She blinked once, then looked at Elliot. "How did you know I was awake?"

"I know what you look like when you're sleeping. The way you breathe, the way you move. I spent a lot of time watching you do it over the years. I just knew. You've been fully conscious for forty-five minutes," Elliot laughed. He slid his chair closer and took her hand. "How do you feel? Aside from the headache."

Olivia scoffed. "I hurt," she said. "What happened?"

"You…don't know?" Elliot asked, furrowing his brow.

"Last thing I remember is being at an amusement park in Vegas and…" she stopped and looked down, her head tilting as she examined her cast. "Okay, I'm completely fucking confused."

"Talk to me, Liv," Elliot said, concerned. "Why are you confused?"

Olivia played with Elliot's fingers in her hand. "It's like…pieces of a puzzle that don't fit. I tried to think of the last thing I remember, then I looked at my hand and remembered something else happening, and I remember being on a balcony in the rain, but then I remember yelling at you at the store back in Avery. It's like…things are all out of order."

Elliot brushed her hair back and smiled slightly at her. "You hit your head, honey," he said. "You probably knocked a few files out of the drawer or something."

"Nice metaphor," Olivia said, assuming that he was right, "But what happened to my stomach?"

"Oh," Elliot said, dropping his eyes. "She shot you, baby."

"Who did?" Olivia asked. She raised an eyebrow and tried to sit up.

Elliot helped her sit up straight and said, "Serena, Liv. We were just…"

"Who's Serena?" Olivia asked, nervous now. "Elliot, who the hell are you talking about?"

"Your mother," Elliot said, staring blankly at Olivia. She was just talking about her mother before and now she couldn't remember her?

Olivia leaned closer to Elliot, holding his gaze. "Her name's Serena?" she asked. "Why didn't I remember that?"

"I don't know, babe," Elliot said, almost a whisper. "I should get the doctor."

"Wait!" Olivia said harshly, coughing a little as she did. She pulled on his hand and said, softer, "Wait. Please, just…wait. I just want a little time alone with you before they start making a huge fuss about this. You're the only thing…the only person…I remember everything about clearly."

Elliot kissed her gently on her lips. He nuzzled her nose and whispered, "I'm the only person you need to remember. Nothing else matters. That's why we left it all behind, right?"

Olivia chuckled. "Probably," she said. She then squinted, and looked up at him, turning serious. "Even though you knew I was awake, you stayed. You didn't leave. You sat in that chair four hours, and you knew I woke up forty-five minutes ago. I heard everything you said…you know that don't you?"

"That's why I said it," Elliot said with a nod and a bite of his lip. "Liv, the things I said to my father, about us, our lives, were all things I was saying to you at the same and I was serious when I…"

"That was your father?" Olivia asked. She made a face and said, "Why do I remember him being more of an asshole?"

"Oh, he is," Elliot laughed. "He was being nice because you just got shot. That was him showing a little compassion."

Olivia smirked, leaned in, kissed him, and brought both hands, one still in its cast, to his face. "I love you, Stabler."

"Benson," Elliot said, kissing her again, "You have no idea." He pulled her closer, only easing up when he heard a mild seething noise. "Sorry," he mumbled against her lips. He pulled away from her slowly, looked her in the eyes, and said, "I love you, Liv."

Olivia pecked his lips again. "We're not gonna get to New York by tomorrow are we?"

Elliot chuckled. "If the doctor gives you a green light, maybe we will." He got out of his seat, kissed her one more time, and said, "I'm gonna go get him." He let go of her hand and moved to the door, stepping into the hall and up to the desk. "Uh, Excuse me? I need you to page Doctor Stourt. Olivia Benson is awake."

"Sure," the smiling nurse said, reaching for the intercom button.

"Oh!" Elliot said, stopping her. "And I know I can't use my cell in here so, uh, is there a phone I can use?"

The nurse pointed to the other end of the desk at a white, corded phone, and then she paged the doctor.

Elliot strode over to the phone, picked up the receiver, and pulled the card his father had given him out of his pocket. "Here goes nothing," he uttered, dialing the number. He waited, and when the man picked up, he said, "Uh, hi. Hello. Uh, you don't know me, but my father gave me your number and…yeah, that's right. Elliot Stabler. Oh, uh, her name's Olivia. She's good, I think. Just a little confused. Took a good knock to the head, but she's vocal and seems to be aware of what's going on. Nothing serious. Anyway, I'm calling because my father said you could help us…oh, really? Already? Well, thanks. We don't have much…wow. That's…really…thank you. Hopefully, tomorrow night. If not, then the day after. We're pretty anxious to get there and start over, ya know?" He twirled the cord in his hands as the relieved expression grew on his face. "Thanks Mister…oh, sorry…Captain…okay, then. Don. Thank you, Don. I guess we'll see you soon." He hung up the phone and smiled, letting out a deep breath as he turned to go back to the girl he loved, hoping that once they reached New York, they'd finally be safe.

**A/N: So it was Cragen! What did he do for them? They reach New York…and the end of the trip…in the next, and possibly final, chapter. Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	14. New York, New York

**A/N: So it was Cragen! What did he do for them? They reach New York…and the end of the trip. It's been a great journey. **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story belongs to TStabler© Read it? Love it? Review it!**

Elliot looked over at Olivia, sleeping soundly in the passenger seat. She'd been discharged from the hospital after two days, after a psychologist examined her. Her memory had straightened itself out after being really awake for a few hours. He smiled as she rolled her head. "Almost there, baby," he whispered.

"Hmmm?" Olivia moaned, her eyes opening slowly. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around at the road.

"Driving through Stroudsburg," Elliot said. "Still on Route 80, heading toward our new life in New York."

Olivia smiled at him. "It's really over, isn't it?" she asked, sitting up straighter. "The nightmare we're leaving behind, it's over."

"Yeah," Elliot said with a smile and a nod. "It is. My father's gonna leave us alone, your mother...she won't be bothering us anymore. We've got nothing to worry about now."

Olivia put her sunglasses on, running a hand lightly over her stomach. "Well, nothing life-threatening anyway," she said with a scoff.

"What do you mean?" Elliot asked, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

Olivia sighed. "School, getting jobs, being out there all by ourselves, finding a place off campus so we can be together," she listed.

Elliot chuckled. "Liv, I didn't tell you, uh, that guy? My father's friend? He got us a place. High security apartment, right in Manhattan. Down the street from a police station."

"We're not gonna be able to afford a place in Midtown," Olivia said, her eyes narrowing.

"We don't have to," Elliot said. "Apparently it's a co-op, and it's been paid for."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Your college fund," she said.

"Probably," Elliot laughed. "I knew he'd find a way to give it to me. School, that's nothing to worry about. It's college, it's gonna be great. We are gonna be great, baby."

Olivia looked at him, smirking. "What about work? Do you know how hard it is to find..."

"Two openings in the same place," Elliot said with a wicked grin. "Liv, how would feel about working in a police station?"

"Doing what?" Olivia gasped.

"Small stuff, ya know," Elliot said with a shrug. "Paperwork, filing, getting coffee. This guy, his name's Don, he's a cop. He offered...because he knows we're both going to school for this, so..."

"Wow," Olivia said, interrupting. "So, we really have nothing to worry about?"

Elliot shook his head. "Just each other," he said, reaching over to turn on the radio. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Good," Olivia said. "At least the first time I get shot in the line of duty, the pain won't come as a shock," she said with a laugh.

"Don't even joke," Elliot said, raising his eyebrows.

"Sorry," Olivia said, softer. "Just trying to keep a sense of humor about this, ya know? I feel okay. It's kind of like a cramp, not so much real pain." She reached over to raise the volume. "I love this song," she said.

Elliot chuckled. "You would," he said. "I bet you know all of the..."

"I think that I'm in love with you," Olivia sang, dancing like a goon, making Elliot laugh. "I've been doin' silly things when it comes to you. Oh, I think that I'm in love with you, ya got me tellin' all my friends what I feel for you." She noticed him chuckling and said, "I told you, I like this song."

Elliot laughed and said, "You know the track is from..."

"Jack and Diane," Olivia said, leaning closer. "John Mellencamp," she said. "I know. See, I'm just as good at this as you are."

Elliot shook his head, grinning. "You are, huh?" he teased. He pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked, furrowing her brow.

"There's no rush now, baby," Elliot said, hitting the button to lift up the top of the car. "We don't have to speed, there's no one after us now." He took her hand and pulled gently, leaning over to meet her in a searing kiss. He was careful as he pulled her onto him, wrapping her gently around him, not breaking their kiss. The lyrics to the song playing in the background made his heart swell because he really was in love.

Olivia softly groaned in slight pain and pulled away from him. "We can't..."

"I know," Elliot said. He looked into her eyes, brushed the hair out of her face, and said, "I just want to hold you here for a little while. Kiss you. Relax a little, now that we can."

Olivia bent over, smiling, to kiss him again.

Elliot sat up straighter to make her more comfortable, and they kissed, holding each other close, in the front seat of the car that saved their lives. New York had waited this long, it could wait a little longer.

* * *

They turned off the final exit, excited and a bit nervous. Elliot flicked the blinker, taking the turn off for the bridge, and they could see the skyline of New York City coming into view. "There it is," Elliot whispered.

"I can't believe we made it," Olivia chuckled. "I thought this wouldn't really happen."

"It almost didn't," Elliot said, seriously. "But it did. It is. Look."

Olivia looked out of the window, watching the skyscrapers and bright lights moving closer as they crossed the bridge, and when they passed the sign, officially welcoming them to New York, she let out a relieved sigh and took a breath. A deep one. For the first time in a long time.

Elliot reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, looked at the address, then tried to navigate his way through the city. "This place is ridiculous," he said. "It's so easy to lose your focus, get lost."

Olivia laughed. "Especially since neither of us has ever been here before." She looked out her window and asked, "What street are we looking for?"

"Fifty-Third," Elliot said.

"Well, the streets are going up, so...there it is!" Olivia said excitedly. "It's a one-way, you have to go around this block here to get..."

Elliot laughed, interrupting. "I know, baby," he said. "I'm thrilled to finally be here, too, but calm down and let me drive."

They finally made it down the street, pulled into a space in front of the building the man named Don had told Elliot about, and they looked at the apartment complex with wide eyes.

"This is it?" Olivia asked, looking at him.

"This is it," Elliot said, nodding. He got out of the car, watching the top slide up, and he popped the trunk. Once he grabbed everything out of it, he turned to Olivia. "Look around," he said. "This place is nothing like home."

Olivia scoffed, grabbing a bag out of Elliot's hands. "Avery wasn't home," she said. "You aren't supposed to want to leave your home," she said with bitterness in her voice. She looked up at him as they walked into the lobby of the building, nodding at the doorman, and said, "You, though. Wherever you are, that's home."

Elliot dropped the things in his arms as they reached the front desk, then turned to her. "Ditto, Benson," he whispered, kissing her. He turned when he heard a throat clear, gave a sheepish grin to the man at the desk, then gave him his name. He was handed back an envelope, and told to head up to apartment Four-B.

* * *

Elliot pushed open the door, stepped in, dropped the bags he was carrying, and flicked on the light. "Holy shit," he said, looking around. "This is..."

"Incredible," Olivia said. She stepped into the living room of the apartment and looked around, her eyes wide. "We live here?"

"This is the place," Elliot said, dangling the keys. "Pretty swanky for a couple of college kids, huh?"

"I'll say," Olivia said with a nod. "We have to stop at the registrar's office, by the way. Classes start on Monday."

"Yeah," Elliot said, finding his way into the bedroom. "Liv," he called. "Come in here a minute," he said.

Olivia walked in, stood next to Elliot and she gasped. "We have to be in the wrong apartment," she whispered.

"This was the address Don gave me, and the guy at the desk said he expected us," Elliot told her. "I think we need to thank him," he whispered.

"We will," Olivia said. She turned to leave the bedroom, but was stopped by Elliot's voice.

"Liv," Elliot said, grabbing her hand, "We're here. Really here. Come here." He pulled her toward the large picture window, held her close, and said, "Welcome home."

Olivia looked out at their view of the city, at the sparkling lights and the busy streets. It was so vastly different from Avery, California, and part of her was anxious, wondering if this was really the right decision to make. She turned, looked at Elliot, and knew that it was. "Home," she whispered.

Elliot gazed into her eyes for a moment, remembering all they'd been through, all that led them up to this moment, to this place. "Yeah, baby," he whispered, his lips brushing over hers, "Home." He kissed her deeply, in front of their bedroom window, and felt the weight of the world that he'd carried across the country left off of his shoulders.

Olivia breathed into the kiss, melting into Elliot, feeling, for the first time in her life, that she truly was home. Home is a place no one should ever want to leave, and that held true for her. For in Elliot's arms, far away from the life she left behind, was where she wanted to stay.

**A/N: Thanks for riding across the country with me! There will be more journeys for these two characters coming soon. Thanks for reading, and your reviews! ~TStabler **


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